Recent BCNA Education Event

Trista Zamany

British Columbia Notaries Association (BCNA) hosted a successful Virtual Continuing Education session April 16 and 17, 2021, with a variety of content and engaging presenters.

For the 2020–2021 Continuing Education reporting year, BCNA has provided opportunities for Notaries to earn up to 16 Continuing Education Credits. Hosted on Zoom, the April session started with an introduction from Daniel Boisvert, BCNA President. In an update from the

Daniel Boisvert Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA), President and CEO AlKarim Kara provided an introduction to share his vision for the future and what LTSA Al-Karim Kara is doing to ensure BC’s land title and survey systems remain trusted and transparent. Charlsy Dobell, Product Portfolio Manager, presented upcoming initiatives and developments at LTSA, including new functionality

Charlsy coming to Web

Dobell Filing and myLTSA. He also provided an overview of the ID Verification service and an update on the launch of search capabilities for the Land Owner Transparency Registry that began April 30, 2021. Next up was D’Arcy Frankland, Notary Public in Campbell River, and Brent Taylor, BCLS, discussing LAND

D’Arcy Frankland SURVEYING: A Comprehensive Review of the Working Relationship between a Notary and a British Columbia Land Surveyor. With D’Arcy having over 30 years as a Notary and Brent working as a Land Surveyor for over 35 years, a variety of topics were reviewed: • sketch plans, • building location certificates, • lot coverage calculations, • certificates of nonencroachment, • subdivision plans, • topographical plan, • explanatory plan and reference plans, • foreshore lease and licence areas, • boundary location, cancellation of interior lot lines, lot line adjustments, • site lines and building heights, • metes and bound descriptions, • board of variance applications, and • a sketch plan for well registration. Day 2 began with an introduction from Chad Rintoul, BCNA CEO. A general review of Chad Rintoul the Builders Lien Act was provided by Ron Usher, Staff Lawyer Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia (SNPBC) and Practice Advisory

Ron Usher Line (PAL) Advisor, and Daniel Boisvert, Notary Public. This session encompassed what Notaries need to know about the Builders Lien Act and how it affects the Notaries and their clients.

Our second session on Saturday morning, presented by Geoffrey White, LLB, BBA, from Clark Wilson in Kelowna, offered

Geoffrey advice for Estate

White Planning for Notaries’ High Net Worth & Complex Clients. The overview of this session included the following. • What happens when your client’s need is “beyond the basic Will?”

• Ten “red flag” facts including private companies, nonresident status, large probate fees; family conflict, disability, unequal inheritances, and more • How Notaries, as the clients’ trusted advisors, can “flag” their risks and help clients find solutions. After a short lunch break, our afternoon sessions began with Quang Duong, Partner with MacKenzie Fujisawa, LLP, and Todd McKendrick, Chair of the Board of the BC Notaries Captive Insurance Company Inc., leading a session on Risk Management. The wealth of information included discussions about recent cases and claims, the importance of retainer agreements, and how to keep a good file. Practising Advisory Line (PAL): Ron Usher, Joan Letendre, and Leanne Rebantad presented recommended techniques on client interviewing and due diligence.

Quang Duong

Todd McKendrick

Joan Letendre

Leanne Rebantad

Upcoming Continuing Education Initiatives Lunch & Learns Topic: CHICAGO TITLE Tax Coverage and Title Endorsements: How You Can Benefit from Them Presenter: Brigitte Beauchesne When: Wednesday, May 5 Time: 12 noon Where: Zoom Course Description Course Description • Owner coverage for Speculation As a financial adviser, I find the and Vacancy Tax or Empty question most asked from clients

Homes Tax is “Do I have enough?” • Lender coverage for Super Of course, they are referring

Priority Liens/Deemed Trust to whether they have enough saved

Transaction Protection to retire and to last them for the rest

Endorsement of their nonworking lives. For the Vice President, National Underwriting Counsel, for Chicago Title Insurance Company, Brigitte joined the title insurance industry in 1998 and is responsible for overseeing title Brigitte Beauchesne most part, once clients feel assured they won’t run out of money, the next question is “How much can I spend?” Using a relatively simple framework, we will answer whether retirees will have enough money and strategies on how to get the most out of their retirement nest egg. insurance underwriting and Presenter: Jeff Gruber, CFP risk assessment on real estate Portfolio Manager transactions in all Canadian at Dixon Mitchell Provinces and Territories. Investment Counsel Brigitte brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge about risk assessment and underwriting all types of real estate transactions. Solution-oriented and known to bring creative options to the with over 20 years’ experience in the investment industry, Jeff has worked with a range of asset classes and strategies across both private and institutional clients. table, Brigitte has worked on After graduating from Queen’s major real estate transactions, University with a Bachelor of mortgage portfolios, cross-border Commerce (Hons), Jeff began his transactions, and renewable energy career with a large national-bankprojects, to name only a few. owned investment dealer. A focus Brigitte delivered speeches on title insurance at various conferences as a guest speaker, notably with the Real Estate Forum, The Canadian Bar Association, The Canadian Institute, the Ontario Bar Association, and Mortgage Professionals Canada. Brigitte obtained her law degree in Ottawa and her Notarial Diploma in Quebec City. toward macroeconomic trends and global markets led Jeff to the alternative investment space where he co-founded a Vancouver-based investment firm with investment mandates covering multiple hedgefund strategies. Prior to joining Dixon Mitchell, Jeff worked as Director and Portfolio Manager for a large Swiss-based global bank. That part of his career path piqued his interest in retirement Topic: DIXON MITCHELL income planning. Now as Portfolio Retirement Income Planning: Do I Have Enough? Manager at Dixon Mitchell, Jeff has expanded on that work, developing tools that help show clients where Presenter: Jeff Gruber, CFP their current savings plans are taking When: Wednesday, May 19 them, what withdrawal amounts their Time: 12 noon assets will safely support, and how to take those funds in the most taxWhere: Zoom efficient way.

TOPIC: Marsh & Chubb Executor Liability Insurance Overview Based in the Vancouver Insurance Industry since 1993, Kingsley started as an underwriter at Axe Pacific Insurance Kingsley Chow Company and transitioned to Insurance Broker in 1997. With Marsh Canada since 2001, he currently serves as Commercial Lines Leader in Vancouver. Presenter: Kingsley Chow SVP, Marsh Canada When: Wednesday, June 9 Time: 12 noon Where: Zoom

Topic: Central File Presenter: Zoe Stevens When: Wednesday, September 8 Time: 12 noon Where: Zoom

Topic: Stewart Title Updates on Title Insurance Presenter: Amanda Magee When: Wednesday, October 6 Time: 12 noon Where: Zoom

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS (CE) Topic: Wills and Estates and Advance Planning: Careful and client-centred Notary Practice (2 CE CREDITS) Presenters: Dr. Margaret Hall, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD Hilde Deprez, Notary Public When: Wednesday, June 23 Time: 11 aM–1 pM Where: Zoom

Course Description In this session, the presenters discuss how to approach potential “trouble spots” in the area of Wills and Estates and advance planning practice, together with strategies for careful and client-centred Notary Practice strategies to prevent “trouble spots” from becoming problems. The following topics will be covered. • Duty of Care, Standard of Care:

To whom does the Notary owe a duty of care? What is the

“reasonable Notary’s” standard of care? • Assessing Capacity: What is the

Notary’s responsibility? How do you meet that responsibility in the context of Wills and advance planning? What should careful notes in this context include? • Death Bed Wills: What special issues arise in this context?

What is the nature of the

Notary’s responsibility? What should careful notes in this context include? • Section 7 Representation

Agreements: Does the distinctive approach to capability in this context raise special concerns for Notaries?

What are they and how can they be addressed through careful client-centred practice? • The Will Interview: Beyond the checklist—building rapport; the importance of explanation and information in gathering accurate and complete information.

What should careful notes in this context include? • Wills Variation (section 60):

Asking the right questions; explaining the law; evidence going to decision-making • The “Springing” Advance

Planning Instrument:

Information and explanation • Responding to Undue Influence

Red Flags: What is the Notary’s responsibility? What concrete steps can/should you take?

What should careful notes in this context include? Dr. Margaret Isabel Hall, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD, is a Professor and the BC Notaries Chair in Applied Legal Studies in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Hall’s research interests include law and aging, mental capacity and undue influence, legal responses to vulnerability, and systemic theories of liability in tort law. Her research integrates doctrinal analysis with qualitative research methodologies.

Prior to joining SFU, Dr. Hall was an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at Thompson Rivers University (as a founding member of that faculty) and an Assistant Professor in the UBC Faculty of Law. She has also worked in law reform and was the first Director of the Canadian Centre of Elder Law Studies. Hilde Deprez, Notary Public with an office in Vancouver’s West Side, graduated with a Master of Laws degree from the University of Leuven, Belgium, married in 1992, and moved to Canada in Fall 1996. She has been a BC Notary since 2001. Hilde is actively involved in her community and renders Notarial services with a personal commitment to her clients. EVENT: BCNA 2022 Annual Conference Where: Sheraton Wall Centre, Vancouver When: February 25–27, 2022 The Association intends to hold this event as an in-person Conference, subject to Public Health Authority approval. The Association has not held an in-person Conference for an extended period; we are holding this event earlier in the year than we normally intend. Moving forward, BCNA will host an Annual Conference in the Spring. s Trista Zamany is the Continuing Education Manager of BCNA.