BC NOTARIES’ EDUCATION

Lisa Berry Vander Heide

What Does Your BC Notary Know?

Did you know British Columbia Notaries are among the most educated in the world?

The legal duties that Notaries Public are permitted to perform within each country vary. The duties tend to correlate to the amount of education necessary to become a Notary in the respective jurisdiction.

The training programs for Notaries Public in the United States or in other provinces of Canada generally involve a short course and submitting an application and a fee.

In British Columbia, the education requirements for a Notary are intense and challenging. •

To become an applicant, a person must have a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university and a high grade-point average.

Potential notarial candidates undergo a rigorous screening process designed to identify individuals of strong character and integrity. Background checks— criminal and financial; multiple letters of recommendation; a personality inventory; and two rounds of interviews are part of the screening process.

Once accepted as a candidate, the Notary student goes through almost 2 years of indepth education that involves theoretical and practical training. The successful culmination of that training is a Master of Arts degree in Applied Legal Studies from

Simon Fraser University and a commission by the Court of British

Columbia as a Notary Public. ACADEMIC EDUCATION What kind of training do BC Notary students receive? They study the following semester-long courses and other related topics at Simon Frasier University. Legal Research and Writing This course is designed to hone the analytical-thinking skills required in the legal world and to enable the future Notary to write effectively with the topic of law in mind. The course instructs students on how to research legal questions and report their findings to future clients. Contract Law This course outlines what makes a contract viable and how to analyze, create, and explain real estate contracts, purchase agreements, and other agreements. Legal Philosophy What is the basis of laws in a society? What is the source of the framework of our laws? This course helps students understand the origins of laws to enable them to communicate that information to clients who need to understand it. Property Law This course discusses all components in the purchase of land, the title to land, and other land-ownership issues. It contains so much information vital to a practising BC Notary, the students take two full courses in Property Law. Personal Planning The focus is the law behind planning for a person’s incapacity and his or her eventual death . . . and what legally can be done ahead of time by people to ensure their wishes are carried out once they have passed away or they are no longer capable of making decisions regarding the legal, financial, health care, and personal care aspects of their life. PRACTICAL TRAINING BC Notary students also participate in 11 weeks of practical training with practising BC Notaries to gain from their expertise. That is followed by an additional 3-week mentoring period of on-the-job training in a BC Notary’s office. The marriage of academics and boots-on-the-ground experience is a significant strength of the training program. EXAMS AND REWARD Then they must pass six complex statutory exams. Then and only then will the student be able to achieve that highest of rewards—becoming your Notary Public!

BC Notaries possess a wealth of knowledge about real estate, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Representation Agreements, Advance Health Care Directives, and much more. (See page 27 for the full list of legal services that a BC Notary can provide.) Tap into that source for your legal needs! BC Notary Lisa Berry Vander Heide resides on Kootenay Lake in Sanca, BC, north of Creston. Telephone: 250 428-7194 lberryvdh@gmail.com