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CEO, BC NOTARIES ASSOCIATION
BC Notaries—with You Every Step of the Way!
Ihope our Scrivener readers are well and you have found time to enjoy our brief Summer!
It likely will be a challenging Fall with the resumption of many organizational activities and schools re-opening.
Notaries have learned from recent experience that we can manage our affairs and client interactions safely, so let’s not be discouraged if we have to take a step back and re-double our efforts to keep our families and employees healthy.
Notaries contribute to the economic well-being of British Columbia every day so please remember to take care of yourselves throughout this marathon we are on together.
The British Columbia Notaries Association, like the BC Society of Notaries Public, has just completed our annual membership renewal. I am very much looking forward to working with the BCNA Board and our members in the year ahead as the Association endeavours to ensure that British Columbians have an expanded choice when it comes to accessing non-contentious legal services.
When the BCNA reaches out to British Columbians and our stakeholders, we do so on behalf of the profession as a whole; our efforts are for all Notaries collectively in the province.
In addition to raising the profile of the profession, advocacy is another responsibility of the Association.
Our ongoing dialogue with The Ministry of the Attorney General has been positive and we are working hard to see the practice rights of Notaries expanded • to include the preparation of Testamentary Trusts; • to advise and process a Probate application; and • to incorporate a company.
British Columbians want a choice when it comes to the provision of legal services.
Seventeen years ago when my wife and I returned to Canada following a decade overseas, we went to a BC Notary to handle our real estate conveyancing needs; that Notary, however, was restricted from fulfilling our wishes when it came to the provision of Wills that provided for a Trust for our children beyond the age of 19. Neither my wife nor I intended to hand the value of our estate over to our children at such a young age. We were told we would have to see a lawyer to document our Wills.
I wonder how many people just walk away at that point and never bother to complete a Will?
As the clients of a well-educated Notary in practice for many years, we expected that service to be provided
Chad Rintoul
by the legal professional we had come to know and trust and I’m certain it was also frustrating to the Notary who had to send us away.
According to a 2018 Ipsos survey of British Columbians, 56 per cent of respondents did not have a Will. We know that a Will is an important planning instrument that helps alleviate future conflict in families and strain on the Courts.
What we need to do to improve the number of British Columbians who have a legal Will is ensure that Notaries can provide their clients with the products and services they want, such as a Testamentary Trust and the ability to process a Probate application.
The BCNA will continue to work with the Attorney General to encourage those enhancements to the Notaries Act of BC; the outcome will be to the benefit of all British Columbians.
Advocacy will remain a Strategic Priority for the Association as we move forward with contemplating initiatives for our next planning period 2021 to 2023. I encourage all members to participate in the process and provide input as we move forward this Fall and help identify our next priorities for the Association and the profession.
The commitment of Notaries to further enhance their education as a part of expanded service provisions will help shape the future of access to legal services for all British Columbians, ensuring that BC Notaries remain with you— every step of the way! s
