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The area of expertise of notaries is vast, both in traditional and non-traditional areas.

It is possible to convert a rental building into divided co-ownership (condominium) but the owner of the building must respect certain rules. One of the first steps for the owner is to obtain a document from the municipality where the property is located to determine whether the conversion can take place. The conversion of an immovable to divided co-ownership must also be authorized by the Tribunal administratif du logement (formerly the Régie du logement) if it has or had at least one dwelling in the 10 years preceding the authorization request.

The private and common portions of a divided co-ownership are governed by a notarized declaration of co-ownership. The buyer must always read and understand it before making a commitment. A notary will help you understand the contents of this very important document.

Adopting a child is a long and rigorous process that must be carried out with the best interests of the child in mind and in accordance with the child’s rights.

A will allows you to express your wishes regarding the distribution of your property after your death. You can designate the person or persons to whom the property will be bequeathed and the share that each will receive. If you do not have a will, the law will decide on your heirs and their shares.

A notary is an impartial legal expert, due to his or her professional training and allegiance, who must try to avoid conflicts. A notary’s first instinct would be to find some common ground that would benefit all parties. If agreements or documents need to be signed, the notary can also authenticate them, making them much more difficult to dispute, and the notary would also safeguard the original copies.

No. Only the testator or a notary mandated for this purpose who has the testator’s authorization may obtain a copy of a person’s will while they are still alive. A testator can obtain a copy of their will by contacting their notary directly. If the testator does not have their notary’s contact information, they may contact the Chambre des notaires. If the testator does not know the name of the notary who executed their last will, they will have to request a will search in the Register of Testamentary Dispositions of the Chambre des notaires. If the testator lives in the Montréal area, they may apply in person by providing two pieces of photo identification and paying a fee of $23.00 (taxes included). If the testator is unable to travel or if they live in a remote area, they may contact the notary of their choice who will send a request for a search in the Register on presentation of two pieces of identification. The testator will obtain a search certificate bearing the name of the notary and the date of the last will from the Registrar. Note that a search request for a living person cannot be made by mail. Le testateur peut obtenir une copie de son testament en communiquant directement avec son notaire. Si le testateur ne connaît pas les coordonnées de son notaire, il peut communiquer avec la Chambre des notaires. Si le testateur ignore le nom du notaire qui a reçu son dernier testament, il devra présenter une demande de recherche auprès du Registre des testaments de la Chambre des notaires. Si le testateur habite dans la région de Montréal, il peut présenter sa demande en personne en fournissant deux pièces d'identité comportant une photo et en payant les frais de 23 $ (taxes incluses). Si le testateur ne peut pas se déplacer ou s’il habite en région éloignée, il peut s'adresser au notaire de son choix qui, sur présentation des deux pièces d'identité, pourra transmettre une demande de recherche au Registre. Le testateur obtiendra du Registre un certificat de recherche portant le nom du notaire et la date du dernier testament. Notez qu'une demande de recherche pour une personne vivante ne peut pas être présentée par la poste.

In a real estate transaction (sale of a home, condo or piece of property), the notary works for both the seller and the buyer, even though he or she is chosen by the buyer. As the notary works for both parties, each party must cover the costs associated with the verifications and disbursements made on its behalf.

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Family patrimony was added to the Civil Code of Québec in 1989 in order to put an end to certain inequalities, particularly in cases when couples had opted for a regime of separation as to property. This would often happen when one of the spouses had not entered the labour market in order to care for children, for example. Family patrimony rules thus attempt to foster economic equality between spouses.

One of the main tasks of a real estate notary is to search for what is called the chain of title to a property. The links in this chain are made up of each successive sale of the property you wish to acquire. The purpose of the search is to establish that these sales fully transferred the right of ownership from the seller to the buyer.

As a result of the pandemic physical distancing rules, it has been possible to sign notarial acts remotely using the technology-based notarial act since April 1, 2020.

By making your advance medical directives before a notary, you can be confident you have the information you need to make the right choices.

The notary is a legal professional. Their role is to advise you in the preparation of the legal document that will contain your advance medical directives.

The notary:

• Ensures that you have received all the necessary information before preparing your instructions and that you are well informed of the consequences of refusing care
• Discusses your situation and needs with you, without taking the place of a health care professional
• Verifies that there is no conflict between your wishes expressed elsewhere and your advance medical directives
• Takes the time to answer your questions
• Forwards your instructions to the Advance Medical Directives Register and your physician for inclusion in your medical record at your request

The notary can direct you to different resources if you need more information about the care you want to receive, including the impact on longevity and quality of life.

Finally, the notarial act is ideal since its authenticity gives it a high degree of reliability.

The notarial act guarantees:

• The person’s identity
• That the person is of full age and capable of giving consent to or refusing certain medical care
• That consent is informed and given freely and without undue pressure

Any person interested in the succession who produces a copy of the death certificate issued by the Registrar of Civil Status may a request a will search with the Register of Testamentary Dispositions of Québec. However, the Civil Code expressly provides that the liquidator is responsible for establishing whether or not the deceased had made a will. You may also ask a notary to perform the necessary research. Finally, note that to respect the confidentiality of the process, the Register only shares the results of the search with the person who requested it.

In principle, a seller is obliged to warrant to the buyer that the property and accessories that are the subject of the transaction are free from latent defects that render them unfit for their intended use, or so diminish their usefulness that the buyer would not have bought them or would not have paid the price if the defect had been known. This is what constitutes a legal warranty of quality. However, the parties may restrict the effects of the legal warranty of quality or exclude it entirely in the sale contract. The sale is then made without warranty against latent defects. However, the seller is obliged to report known defects. We invite you to contact a notary for more information on your rights and obligations.

The death of a loved one is an emotionally destabilizing situation and the liquidation of a succession often raises difficulties that the deceased could not have anticipated. In addition, the liquidator may not fully understand their role and their responsibilities to other family members.

In Quebec, there are two registers of testamentary dispositions: that of the Chambre des notaires du Québec and that of the Barreau du Québec. Provided that an application is filed with all required documents, the time limits for obtaining search certificates are calculated in the same way for both registers: • If the death occurred less than two weeks ago, your search certificates will be mailed within three weeks of receiving your application. • If the death occurred more than two weeks ago, your search certificates will be mailed within two weeks of receiving your application.

Under the law, the seller is bound by legal warranty to the buyer. This warranty includes two elements:

To find out if you are an heir or not, we invite you to read the deceased’s will to see how legacies are provided for. If you have difficulty understanding the will, we invite you to contact a notary for advice. To find out whether a will exists, you must perform a will search in the Register of Testamentary Dispositions of the Chambre des notaires du Québec. You will obtain a search certificate and, if applicable, the contact information of the notary holding the document you are looking for. To conduct your search, you need the deceased’s death certificate issued by the Registrar of Civil Status. It is possible for you to order it directly from the Registrar of Civil Status without the need to contact the new spouse of your mother or father. Note that you must make two will search requests: one with the Chambre des notaires du Québec and the other with the Barreau du Québec.

According to the Civil Code of Québec, a seller is required to deliver the property and warrant its right of ownership and quality (legal warranty). In terms of quality, this is the seller’s warranty that property and its accessories are, at the time if the sale, free from latent defects that render them unfit for their intended use, or so diminish their usefulness that the buyer would not have bought them or would have paid a lesser price if the defect had been known. It is therefore important for the seller to declare all defects that are known. For those that are unknown, the seller remains liable if they correspond to what is mentioned above. If a seller wants protection against claims for latent defects, it may be stipulated in the purchase offer and subsequently in the act of sale that the sale will be made without legal warranty, at the buyer’s risk. It will then be presumed that the buyer renounces the warranty of quality against latent defects. To find out if you have a latent defect claim, refer to your contract to see how the clause was drafted. The possibility to sue under legal warranty exists only against those who sold with a legal warranty. A buyer may sue the person who sold to them or one of the previous sellers in the chain of title. However, when a seller sells a property without a legal warranty, only subsequent owners may be sued. There are exceptions to this rule, in particular where there has been bad faith. We invite you to consult your notary to determine if this applies to your situation.

The liquidator is responsible for settling the succession. As administrator of the property of the deceased, the liquidator must act with prudence, diligence, loyalty, honesty and in the best interests of the heirs. They must also act within the limits that the law and those that the will imposes. The liquidator must, in particular: - Find out if the deceased made a will and, if so, have it probated - Make an inventory of the succession’s property and liabilities, unless exempted from doing so - Publish the notice of closure of the inventory and inform the heirs, unless exempted from doing so - Administer the succession and sell certain assets according to the powers provided by law or the will - Render accounts to the heirs once a year and once the succession is settled - Pay creditors and federal and provincial taxes - Deliver the property to the heirs - Apply for the certificate authorizing the distribution of succession property from Revenu Québec and its equivalent at the federal level (clearance certificate) Attention must be paid to time limits for certain steps. For example, the inventory may help the heirs to decide whether to accept or renounce the succession. In principle, the heirs have six months from the date of death to make their decision. If a liquidator fails to fulfil their duties, any interested party may apply to the court to have them replaced. In addition, a liquidator who is at fault may be prosecuted. Without legal recourse, it will be difficult to force an uncooperative liquidator to act.

Some notaries are accredited by the Order to act as identity verification agents (IVAs). These notaries are authorized by some government organizations to certify the identity of clients who want keys or certificates (digital signatures) to undertake electronic exchanges with them.

The person designated as liquidator (formerly called an “executor”) is usually a trusted relative or friend of the testator. The heirs will make this choice themselves if the deceased did not leave a will or if the will does not provide for it.

There is no time limit set for settling a succession in the Civil Code of Québec. However, there are several steps in its liquidation that must be completed within a given time. For example, heirs have six months from the time of death to accept or refuse a succession. If there is a liquidator, they must render accounts to the heirs and unpaid creditors each year and at the end of the liquidation. Tax laws also provide for deadlines for filing tax returns and paying any sums owed. Once the liquidator has received the notices of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec, they must obtain the federal clearance certificate and the provincial certificate authorizing the distribution of succession property. The liquidator may only distribute the property to the heirs once these documents have been obtained. The liquidation of a succession is completed when known creditors and legatees by particular title have been paid. It ends when the liquidator has rendered accounts on their administration to the heirs and the heirs release the liquidator from their responsibilities. The settlement of a succession can thus take several months and even years in some cases. We invite you to contact a notary for more information on the settlement of a succession.

A notary bills you for the work they have done for you. As a seller, you have an obligation to provide clear titles of ownership to your buyer. If your immovable is mortgaged, it is up to you to pay the fees for the notary to prepare your acquittance. In addition to the fees, you must also pay disbursements, including the cost of publishing the acquittance with the land registry office, the cost of obtaining tax certificates and the statement of co-ownership expenses, if applicable, and the cost of trust accounting for cheques issued to persons other than the seller, in particular the payment made to the real estate agent, payment of the location certificate, tax arrears, etc. We invite you to consult your notary for more information on the invoicing of fees.

An up-to-date location certificate is a certificate that shows the current condition of your property. It represents the physical and legal condition at the time of the transaction. All buildings, structures, hedges, fences, entrances, servitudes, flood-prone areas, risk areas, and others must be included. In addition, the land surveyor’s report must mention the regulations and laws currently applicable and indicate how they impact your property. The lot number must also match the actual lot on your property. The need for an up-to-date location certificate depends on different factors, including the purchase offer that has been signed, the creditor, the date the property was built, the buyer and the mandated notary, and is assessed on a case-by-case basis. We invite you to contact a notary for more information on your rights and obligations.

Under tax laws, a liquidator must wait until the federal clearance certificate and the provincial certificate authorizing the distribution of succession property have been issued before distributing the property to the heirs. If the liquidator makes the distribution before obtaining these certificates, they remain personally liable for the payment of the deceased’s unpaid taxes, up to the value of the succession’s assets.

Under tax laws, a non-resident who sells property in Canada must notify tax authorities of this transaction to request the issuance of a certificate of compliance and send a percentage of the estimated capital gain to the federal and provincial tax authorities at least 30 days before the transaction. If there is a difference between the notice and the transaction, the seller has 10 days to send the missing information and payment to the tax authorities. If these notices are not sent, the tax authorities will turn to the buyer who will have to pay a percentage of the total amount of the transaction (not only based on the capital gain). The buyer is therefore authorized by law to withhold these sums from the sale price and may mandate a notary for this purpose. The notary is thus required to withhold a percentage of the sale price until they have obtained a certificate of compliance from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec.