The Scrivener - Spring 2024 - Volume 33 Number 1

SUCCESSION AND RETIREMENT

• Probate Applications

• Legal Advice to Executors

• Testamentary Trusts

• Living (inter vivos) Trusts

• Incorporations

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THE SCRIVENER: WHAT’ S IN A NAME?

“A professional penman, a copyist, a scribe... a Notary.” Thus the Oxford English Dictionary describes a scrivener, the craftsman charged with ensuring that the written affairs of others flow smoothly, seamlessly, and accurately. Where a scrivener must record the files accurately, it’s the Notary whose Seal is bond.

We chose The Scrivener as the name of our magazine to celebrate the Notary’s role in drafting, communicating, authenticating, and getting the facts straight. We strive to publish articles about points of law and the Notary profession for the education and enjoyment of our members, our allied professionals in business, and the public in British Columbia.

Succession: Start Early!

Î Succession planning is an important consideration for any business or organization. Finding the right “fit” can be complicated. The advice throughout the articles in this edition of The Scrivener seems to be “start early”! Don't leave consideration of your succession planning until other priorities in life can rush the process.

Many BC Notaries have been fortunate to have family members interested in taking over their business. The modern educational requirements that must be met to become a Notary today, including graduation from Simon Fraser University’s Masters of Applied Legal Studies (MA ALS) Program, ensure that upon receiving their Notary commission, practitioners are mature and well prepared to fulfill their roles as legal professionals.

But what about facing the challenges of owning a business? Many new Notaries choose to become Staff Notaries at existing practices, perhaps to get that initial exposure to the business or perhaps for personal lifestyle reasons.

Photo: iStock/3rdtimeluckystudio

The BC Notaries Association (BCNA) provides a great opportunity for practising Notaries to meet annually with students in the MA ALS Program. Our virtual Career Fair is an icebreaker, where Notaries and students can introduce themselves, then followup independently to see if existing prospects to join a practice, partner in a business, or purchase a business would be a good fit for their individual circumstances.

Any time of year, our members can access the BCNA website for a listing of opportunities for new Notaries throughout the province . . . an excellent resource that can form a part of your succession planning!

Our annual conference is another great way for Notaries and students to connect and network. At the recent 2024 Continuing Education Conference in Vancouver, there was excellent participation by Notary students; the BCNA will prioritize making the annual conference affordable for students to attend going forward, so the event becomes another chance for

Notaries and students to connect and hopefully create an avenue to foster future succession opport unities.

Those unique programs for Notaries become all the more important with the recent introduction of Bill 21 in the BC Legislature. When the Legal Profession Act becomes law, the legal professions will be regulated by a common entity: Legal Professions BC.

The Society of Notaries Public of BC will cease to exist following the transition. Lawyers, Notaries, and Paralegals will be regulated under one common entity. The unique identity of a BC Notary is protected in the new legislation that will provide an expanded scope of practice for Notaries.

With change comes opportunity! Notaries will be able to provide more services to their clients—benefitting British Columbians with increased access to legal services. The BC Notaries Association will be the continuity for the community of Notaries as we move forward.

Given the new challenges that will inevitably come with the changing regulatory environment, the BCNA will be consulting with our members this Fall as we look to update our strategic plan and develop the road map for the future of the Association. We look forward to your participat ion!.

Respectfully,

CHAD RINTOUL, Chief Executive Officer

CHAD RINTOUL

Succession . . . Don’t Wait ‘til You Decide to Retire

Î Being a BC Notary is one of the hardest professions to leave. Interesting new business arrives every day with short timelines to complete the work. This dynamic calling gets hold of you and doesn’t want to let go.

Fortunately, I am not ready to retire yet . . . but I should be thinking about succession today. Just like everything else in life, for success we need to plan. As Notaries, we constantly advise our clients to get their Wills done. Why? Because the time will come. Well, succession is like that, too. I am sure many of us will have different ideas on what succession look s like.

For instance, many BC Notaries have watched their children become Notaries themselves, then slowly integrate into the parent’s Notary practice with the goal of eventually taking over. Others have hired Staff Notaries, made them partners, then turned the practice over to those trusted individuals . . . and retired. Other Notaries have simply sold their practice to another Notary or even a lawyer.

Succession: There are many ways to do it but you need to think about it sooner than later.

With the recent introduction of Bill 21 into the BC Legislature, Notaries are on the verge of an expanded scope of practice that will have huge benefits for the people of British Columbia and for the Notary profession.

Personally, I believe it will make our succession planning easier; we will be able to increase our nonlitigious legal offerings and develop further scalability in our practices, making it easier to acquire additional staff and other legal professionals. That should open the door to easier succession planning.

A Few Remarks on Bill 21

Once given Royal Assent, Bill 21 will eventually replace the Legal Profession Act and the Notaries Act . Those changes will see one unified Regulator for all legal professionals—a massive transition to say the least.

Of equal importance, Bill 21 contains an extended scope of practice for Notaries in the areas of Will-writing and preparing and submitting probate applications . . . to further enhance the estate-planning services already provided by BC Notaries. Further, the legislation will provide BC Notaries with the ability to deliver additional legal services through a licensing mechanism set out by the Regulator. All in all, a great modernization of legal services legislation is at hand.

I am confident we will adapt well to the changes . . . and be better for them. The BC Notaries Association (BCNA) will continue to work with Government and other stakeholders on all matters that affect our Notary members. We will continue to deliver in-depth Continuing Education for the work BC Notaries currently do . . . and provide Education for the new scope of work contained within the legislation.

I am extremely proud of my Board of Directors and our Association staff for keeping their focus on enhancing the excellent work BC Notaries do every day . . . for the people of this great province.

DANIEL BOISVERT

Photo: iStock/Loes Kieboom

Successful Succession

Î There are myriad examples of hardworking parents who have built a successful business over the years, hoping and expecting that their offspring will perpetuate their corporate achievement.

Big challenges can arise when that expectation is not formalized with a formal succession plan and the kids decide to pursue diverse careers. Not only is that situation disheartening, it can cause deep division in the family and even the future failure of the business.

For many BC Notaries, however, succession of a business to family members or Staff Notaries happily happens!

I trust you will enjoy the information in this issue!.

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VAL WILSON

Unintentional Succession

Î In common language, usage and word association games mention the word “succession” and, more than likely, individuals respond with the word “planning.”

The word is also culturally dominant for a couple of reasons. One being the very successful TV series Succession , on HBO from 2018 to 2023, about the powerful fictional Roy family who control the world’s biggest news media and mass entertainment company in the world.

The other reason, as the popular TV series reflected, is that generational groups are relentlessly progressing through time. The Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964 and now 59 to 77 years old, are entering their final quarter of life and want their legacy to carry on . . . to be more than just their death.

Succession planning commonly refers to a business or government strategy used to pass leadership down to another employee. In the best and worst of times, it ensures business continuity so the business can run smoothly as individuals retire, move on to new opportunities, or otherwise pass away.

It can enable the transfer of ownership, the promotion, or advancement of all employees. As a strategy, succession planning involves cross-training so those considered for advancement for whatever reason are well-rounded and ready to step up.

In corporations and government, it is rare to find a CEO or Deputy Minister who isn’t well-rounded and competent in finance, administration, aspects of current technology, and the policy area that dictates the industry or domain they oversee or govern, field operations, marketing, public relations, and human resources. A career built on cross-training in those disciplines is key to success for

the individual, business, corporations, and good government.

essence of the Robert Burns poem, To a Mouse , in which “The best-laid plans of mice and men” became enshrined in culture, popularized by John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men , and subsequent plays and films.

Succession planning commonly refers to a business or government strategy used to pass leadership down to another employee. In the best and worst of times, it ensures business continuity so the business can run smoothly as individuals retire, move on to new opportunities, or otherwise pass away.

There are many benefits to succession planning beyond smooth transitioning of human resources into the future and stable business. Aspects of societal diversity, Reconciliation, and new partnership through succession planning can “widen the circle” of governance and economy. It also serves as an aspect of contingency planning when one or more of life’s “random zaps” might disrupt our assumptions and life.

THE BEST-LAID PLANS

When those zaps occur, be they accidents, death, scandal, interest rates, extreme storms, the oft-unpredictable vagaries of economics, or wars, we often revert to understanding the

Consider 1937, the year Steinbeck’s novel was published, and what was happening: The Great Depression; the Dustbowl; mass emigration and immigration; and the advancing technology of electricity. The radio became mainstream, introducing, creating, and further stimulating what Walter Lippmann had written, “The world outside and the pictures in our heads.”

In his prescience, most relevant to today’s disruptions, Lippmann wrote, “Ours is a problem in which deception has become organized and strong, where truth is poisoned at its source, one in which the skill of the shrewdest brains is devoted to misleading a bewildered people.”

In that most disruptive era, as my friend W.R. Clement noted about history, then and now, “when the rate of change is too great, people revert to fundamentalism,” and as the movie Easy Rider explained to a generation, there is a formula to understand—Ignorance + Fear = Violence.

During the 1930s, that formula was exploited in Europe on a mass scale, disrupting what many individuals, businesses, and government then considered their best-laid plans.

THE GRAND BABY BUST

After World War 11 ended in 1945, nations around the globe settled into their respective economic orders in a wide spectrum ranging in extremes from totalitarian communism to capitalist democracies.

NIGEL ATKIN

In that time of relative peace in North America, between 1946 and 1964 the large numbers of offspring were known collectively as Baby Boomers. Fearing yet another explosion of population, the high-technology of the birth-control pill was widely promoted and distributed without, some contend, the “values and mores” to guide behaviour.

In China a population-planning initiative known as the One-Child Policy was implemented between 1979 and 2015 to curb that country’s population exponential growth.

Both China and North America experienced wide-ranging, social, cultural, demographic, and economic effects resulting from those respective policies, medical and other technology, and resultant consequences.

A few years ago, the BBC’s health and science correspondent James Gallagher reported, “Fertility rate: Jaw-dropping global crash in children being born,” mentioning that fertility rates in nearly every country could shrink populations by the end of the century. He wrote that some 23 nations—including Spain and Japan—are expected to see their populations halve by 2100. While women averaged 4.7 children in their lifetime in 1950, “researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation showed the global fertility rate nearly halved to 2.4 in 2017, projected to fall below 1.7 by 2100.”

Statistics Canada reported this country’s fertility rate reached an all-time low of 1.33 children per woman in 2022. While falling fertility rates are a perhaps a major success story for the environment, globally the falling rates are driven by more women in education and work, as well as a greater access to contraception, leading to women choosing to have fewer children.

Regardless of fertility rates, a Globe and Mail article January 19, 2024, confirmed, “Baby Boomers are adjusting to a new retirement normal: No grandchildren.”

NOT A NEW PHENOMENON

Unintentional succession is not a new phenomenon.

Sometimes our plans work out; often other fates intervene. LLP

A friend of mine was destined to take over his very successful family furniture business in Ontario but he enlisted in the military instead. In Canadian and Pentagon aptitude tests, he scored in the “immeasurable” range and served both in the field and HQ doing intelligence work. He later got his PhD in Psychology, became a software inventor, wrote a few books, and served as a most-senior policy analyst for his nation and the wider community. That is not what his good parents had in mind.

As parents and good teachers wisely know, when our children “pay attention to what has heart and meaning,” we are “open to outcomes—not attached to outcomes,” according to author Dr. Angeles Arrien.

NEVER MOURN THE DEATH OF A PLAN

Sometimes our plans work out; often other fates intervene.

In military operations, things can dramatically upset the best operational plans. In much of our work and family life, I routinely recall the British Army and a saying attributed to the special forces Strategic Air Services (SAS), “never mourn the death of a plan.”

There are many life-disrupting events in many of our lives, as there have been for previous eras in human history. When Covid swept across North America in 2020, a native Elder friend relayed to me, “we know a fair bit about dealing with pandemics,” referencing how colonialism

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and resettlement of this continent brought waves of disease that ravaged countless communities in British Columbia.

I thought then of levels of destruction wrought on the First Peoples by imposing another system of government on tribal people, how residential schools disrupted language, community, culture, and the hereditary form of government. Ancestral concepts of succession plan-

WHITE BUFFALO FEMALE CALF

In Canada as we face the grandbaby-bust, a technological tsunami of disruptional consequence, extreme and sometimes deadly weather, and populist politicians who nurture a fearful and ignorant population as their loyal following, I am heartened by the words of Arvol Looking Horse. In a speech to the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, "Horse Man" detailed the extinction of the Buffalo, how “it reflects the status of the Lakota People.” He further documented the Apartheid and genocide—a North American Holocaust—endured by the original people for hundreds of years.

In August of 1994, a White Buffalo Female Calf was born. Arvol Looking Horse said, “This tells us it is time to take our rightful place in leading the people towards Peace and Balance once again. We will be strong and the people will heal. Our healing is global.”

Unintentional succession throughout our collective histories is ongoing. These are not, perhaps never have been, “normal” predictable times. There are short and longterm consequences for small business, our governments, and corporate continuity just as the TV series Succession acted out, and we witness in our own lives.

NIGEL ATKIN teaches the Evolution of Public Relations course online at the University of Victoria. He offers workshops and counsel to leverage human capital and exploit the multiplier effect of becoming better communicators.

Succession Planning for the Family Business?

MAKE IT A TOP PRIORITY.

A

Formal Succession Plan Goes Hand-in-hand with Successful Retirement.

Î You remember those early years. You’d taken out a loan, perhaps put a mortgage on your house, and everything depended on those first few sales. There was so much to do and most of it landed on you until there were enough profits to add employees. Every step of the way, the family was involved, especially when your teenage children were looking for part-time work. With pride, you’ve watched as the business grew.

Despite all the unknowns, your dreams came true—your business was successful. But now, there are new unknown factors on the horizon. You are ready to start a new chapter in your life, but what is going to happen once you retire? Can you retire?

The questions keep you awake at night. Should you sell the business? Is your daughter or son able to take on more responsibilities? And what do the others, family members and those employed who are not family members, assume will happen?

You are not alone!

Over 3/4s of small businessowners (76 per cent) plan to exit their businesses within the next decade. Most

(75 per cent) want to retire; 22 per cent are doing so because they feel burned out and 21 per cent want to at least step back from their responsibilities as owners.1 Whatever the reasons, here’s the more alarming fact: Only 1 in 10 of those businessowners have a formal business succession plan in place.

If you are one such owner, keep reading.

Succession Planning Equals Survival for Your Business.

There’s good reason why many businesses avoid the “succession talk.” They anticipate difficult conversations and decisions, even conflict. Some working in the company may want to

take it in a different direction, while others hope it might be sold.

Likely, there are assumptions about who might step into a leadership role and whether that person should be a family member or an outsider.

Transitions around retirement are challenging for any corporation, and even more for a family-owned business. Family-owned businesses are a balancing act between the family and the business, always aiming to keep both parts healthy and thriving while preserving harmony.

Those goals are challenged when the founder/owner retires or during unexpected circumstances such as health issues or death. Decisions around tax,

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RACHELLE LEE

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If you are serious about the survival of your business, the legacy you’ve created, and family harmony, the only answer is a strong succession plan—one with the elements needed to take the issue of “transferring power” out of the realm of personal emotion and placed squarely in the executive and business realm.

business, asset distribution, leadership, and overall management get mixed up in the emotions and dynamics of the family. Disagreements and misunderstandings can literally tear a family and the business apart.

If you are serious about the survival of your business, the legacy you’ve created, and family harmony, the only answer is a strong succession plan—one with the elements needed to take the issue of “transferring power” out of the realm of personal emotion and placed squarely in the executive and business realm.

Succession Planning is a Process, not a One-Time Event

First, there needs to be a shift in perspective. Most believe the task at hand is to select the next President. Yes, choosing and preparing the leader at the top is part of the plan, but putting a plan together and implementing that plan is a process, not a one-time event. Most experts recommend at least a 3-to-5-year timeframe or longer. That is true for family and non-family-owned companies alike. You are not just deciding or confirming who takes over; you are building a pipeline of properly prepared leaders who want to move the company forward.

Marissa Freed, who stepped into the role of CEO of her father's Winnipegbased apparel manufacturer Freed & Freed, learned the importance of formal succession planning the hard way.

No one prepared her for the job, but when she expressed willingness to step up as the incoming CEO, her father agreed without hesitation.

That decision was a shock to her siblings, who pushed back and demanded a voice. Employees who’d served under her father left because they didn’t want to take orders from her.

"We started to resemble the show Succession ," Marissa recalls. Ever since, Marissa has become a firm believer in succession plans with a robust implementation framework. “You can write a succession plan,” she says, “but the actual implementation of it can take years.”2 She's already put a plan in place for her retirement, based on open communication, building harmony, and ensuring everyone understands the business.

Best Practices Start with Transparency and Communication

Although the statistics of familybusiness survival rates across generations can be discouraging, many successful family businesses in Canada have survived, grown, and evolved over three or more generations. Inspired by what can take a business past the dreaded “3-year” mark, experts in succession planning have developed best practices for putting together a succession plan and ongoing talent engine framework that enables outgoing leaders to celebrate retirement and the incoming leaders to thrive.

2 How to Set Up a Solid Succession Plan, Sarah Laing, Canadian Business, October 2022. https://canadianbusiness.com/strategies/how-to-make-succession-plan/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CYou%20 can%20write%20a%20succession,recommends%20getting%20them%20involved%20early. Fall Advertising Space Deadline Sept. 1, 2024

The first task is to identify the values and goals shared by those in the business so there’s a sense of common ownership. The initial meeting also provides a forum for family members to talk about their roles and how they believe they fit (or not) into the business.

In a corporation, succession planning starts with gaining insight and opinions from all stakeholders.

The process

1. defines the organization’s vision, goals, and cultu re, and

2. looks at roles and responsibi lities.

The same applies to the family business. The process is not the same as talking around the dinner table. The recommendations include one or a series of structured multigeneration family meetings where everyone is included in an open forum to share their opinions, ideas, and expectations. A respected family member trained in facilitation or an independent consultant should lead the process to provide objectivity and keep the conversations focused. All meetings should be planned appropriately with agendas, specific discussion points, and an agreed code of behaviour.

The first task is to identify the values and goals shared by those in the business so there’s a sense of common ownership. The initial meeting also provides a forum for family members to talk about their roles and how they believe they fit (or not) into the business. Some might not be suited for the business world—or even want to be part of it. They may need time to accept that reality. Others may finally get the chance to state alternative career aspirations. No decisions are being made at this point, but all members need to have a voice and be shown respect by being heard.

In general, family meetings should be part of the overall business operating structure to encourage communication, build trust, and generate family cohesion. If those have yet to be part of the structure, the succession-planning process is a necessary place to start.

Right Roles, Right Fit

Once goals are set for where the business needs to go, those leading the succession-planning process now ask—what skills are we looking for in our leaders and ma nagers?

Specifically . . .

y What kind of expertise is needed today that is different from a generation ago?

y What about the future; what’s needed longterm?

y Who is suitable to transition to perhaps newer roles in the future?

y Who needs training and development (perhaps everyone)?

y Who might not make the cut and needs coaching to help manage the changes?

The above questions can’t be answered by opinions or assumptions. The process requires a formal assessment of potential internal successors by a credible and objective outside third party.

Many well-known family businesses, from the Rogers, Murdochs, and Irvings, provide examples of what happens when assumptions are made about who will be given what role. In many instances, an owner’s plans for transition don’t match their child's career aspirations. Or worse, the oldest sibling or a longterm dedicated leader who is not a family member assumes the honour will fall to them even though neither is the right fit for the role.

A rigorous, competency-based performance-management process is the best way to identify high-potential candidates within the organization. A formal, objective assessment should provide a baseline understanding of capabilities, developmental gaps, and growth potential . . . long before a decision needs to be made.

Expanding the process wider than the top leader creates a "talent engine" as part of the succession-planning process. You’ll have a successor in place, with support to ensure success, as well as a pathway for emerging leaders in the company who now have a way to move forward, either through training or a different caree r path.

If internal candidates do not meet the set criteria, then a reliable and fair selection process for locating external, qualified candidates may be necessary. When that is the case, at least the family is assured the questions were adequately addressed and r esolved.

One successful family business in Canada, Samuel, Son & Co, is in its sixth generation of ownership. Over the years, the owners (three siblings) never hesitated to bring in outside skills, including leaders. In her HR role, Karen (Samuel) Fenton always pushed hiring managers to consider job candidates with outside experience. In 2010, when family member Mark Samuel wanted to focus on his role as Executive Chair, outsider Wayne Bassett was appointed CEO. 3 With a culture of open communication

with employees and respect for family and business values, the company is celebrating 169 years of operation th is year!

Training, Education, Leadership Development

When the succession process begins, there may be a need for some broader education on topics like diversification, selling a business, wealth-management opportunities, family investment strategies and options, etc. Presented as part of the above family meetings, they build inclusion and educate members on the risks and opportunities arising from the decisions that need to be made.

those who have grown up in a family business will benefit from work experience outside the family organization for a few years.

Coaching is an essential part of the succession-planning process. Leaders who are assuming new roles need to be set up for success, especially if there is internal conflict concerning their new position. Those who may not want to remain active in the business also benefit from coaching, to help determine their next career steps.

Final Thought: Don’t Wing It!

In many

instances,

an

owner’s plans for transition don’t match their child's career aspirations. Or worse, the oldest sibling or a longterm dedicated leader who is not a family member assumes the honour will fall to them even though neither is the right fit for the role.

Training and education to address specific skills and needs, however, need to be part of an ongoing talent-support program. They include leadershipdevelopment skills and opportunities for mentoring, networking, and working on special assignments and projects. For instance, it’s often suggested that

When you first setup your business, you faced a daunting task regarding family and work. Similarly, succession planning is one of the most complex and emotional issues that family businesses will face. Ensure your succession is based on a longterm strategic plan with a strong “north star” guiding business decisions.

Additionally, leadership development can't begin the day someone new to the role accepts a promotion or steps up as leader. Those inheriting the business need to have a voice in where the business is headed to be prepared and supported by both the business and the family. Those considerations are what builds success and harmony. As you step into that new chapter in your life, you wouldn’t want it any other way!

RACHELLE LEE is President of Einblau & Associates, a 38-year Western Canadian company specializing in leadership-development, succession strategy, team-building, and strengthsbased leadership-competency assessments. www.einblau.com.

Navigating Succession Planning:

Ensure the Future of Your Professional Practice or Business

Î Succession planning is a term that often conjures images of big corporations and family dynasties passing the torch from one generation to the next. But what about the small-to-mediumsized professional practice or business?

The truth is, whether you're running a legal firm, a medical practice, or a boutique consultancy, succession planning is just as crucial for your longterm success. In this article, we'll dive into the key considerations, best practices, pitfalls to avoid, and insights that can make the succession process smooth and ef fective.

First and foremost, let's talk about knowing yourself and your potential successor. Understanding your own leadership style and preferences is paramount. That is where tools like CRG's Personal Style Indicator can be invaluable. By gaining insight into your strengths, weaknesses, communication style, and decision-making tendencies, you can better identify the qualities you seek in a successor.

Likewise, assessing potential successors using tools can provide clarity on whether he or she is the right fit for the role.

By gaining insight into your strengths, weaknesses, communication style, and decision-making tendencies, you can better identify the qualities you seek in a successor.

These questions require thoughtful consideration.

y Are their values aligned with the company c ulture?

y Do they have the necessary leadership and management skills and vision to lead the organization forward?

Succession planning is not a one-size-fits-all process. It takes time—often several years—to identify, groom, and transition a successor effectively. Rushing the process can lead to disastrous outcomes. Instead, adopt a proactive approach. Start early, ideally years before you anticipate needing a

successor. That allows ample time to mentor and develop potential candidates and gradually transfer knowledge and responsibilities.

I am thinking of a recent example where the succession process failed miserably. A nonprofit organization took 6 months to nurture their choice for the new leader. He was the perfect fit, they said. Well, he lasted 90 days and his presence resulted in a law suit.

How is that possible?

I had lunch with the previous leader who said in hindsight that the Board did not vet the person at all. They took the leader’s word that the candidate had great potential. They were so wrong. They were in such a rush to fill the retiring leader’s role that they paid the price. It remains to be seen if the company will survive.

Communication is key throughout the succession journey.

y Be transparent with key stakeholders—employees, clients, and partners—about your succession plans. That fosters trust and minimizes uncer tainty.

y Involve your potential successor in strategic discussions and decisionmaking processes to provide them with hands-on experience and insight into the complexities of running the business.

Succession planning isn't without its challenges and pitfalls. Don't fall into the trap of favouring candidates whose background or leadership style resembles your own. Embrace those with new thoughts and perspectives to ensure a well-rounded leadership team that can adapt to the ever-changing business la ndscape.

Another pitfall is neglecting to formalize the succession plan. While informal discussions and mentoring are

Don't fall into the trap of favouring candidates whose background or leadership style resembles your own.

valuable, a documented plan provides clarity and accountability. Outline the roles and responsibilities of both the current leader and the successor, as well as the timeline for transition. Regularly revisit and revise the plan as circumstances evolve.

Moreover, don't underestimate the emotional aspect of succession.

For many businessowners or senior leaders, letting go can be challenging. It's essential to address any fears or concerns openly and seek support from mentors, peers, or professional advisors.

Remember, succession planning is not just about securing the future of the organization/business; it's also about ensuring your own peace of mind and wel l-being.

Succession planning is a critical component of ensuring the longterm viability and success of your professional practice, business, or organization. By taking a thoughtful and proactive approach, leveraging tools, and prioritizing communication and new ways of thinking, you can navigate the succession journey with conf idence.

Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day—and neither is a successful succession plan. Start early, take it stepby-step, and trust in the process. Your business and your legacy will thank you for it.

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Funding and strategic decisions and oversight are provided by a Board of Governors made up of 8 Directors of The Society of Notaries Public, 1 appointee from the Office of the Attorney General of BC, and 2 Governors at Large appointed by the BC Government.

Applications for funding of law-related education programs, research, and projects may be made and will be considered throughout the year. For more information, visit our website at www.notaryfoundation.ca.

Succession Planning Do’s and Don’ts

10 IMPORTANT DO’S

1. Star t Early

Begin succession planning several years in advance to allow for thorough grooming and transition. Be clear about the role, responsibilities, and expectations before you look for a successor.

2. Know Yourself

Use proven business tools to understand your leadership style and preferences.

3. Assess Potential Successors

Evaluate candidates using objective criteria, considering skills, cultural fit, and longterm vision.

4. Communicate Transparently

Keep key stakeholders informed about your succession plans to build trust and minimize uncertainty.

5. Involve Successor

Include the potential successor in strategic discussions and decisionmaking processes to provide hands-on experience.

6. Document the Plan

Formalize the succession plan with clear roles, responsibilities, and timelines to ensure account ability.

7. Embrace D iversity

Prioritize diversity of thought and perspective in selecting and grooming successors to foster innovation and adapt ability.

8. Seek Support

Don't hesitate to seek guidance and support from mentors, peers, or professional advisors throughout the succession journey. It is highly recommended that you have outside consultants, advisors, or coaches assist in the process.

Don't hesitate to seek guidance and support from mentors, peers, or professional advisors throughout the succession journey. It is highly recommended that you have outside consultants, advisors, or coaches assist in the process.

9. Address Emotions

Acknowledge and address any fears or concerns about letting go, both for yourself and the successor, to ensure a smooth tra nsition.

10. Stay Flexible

Remain open to revising and adapting the succession plan as circumstances change or new opportunities arise. What happens if the person you have been preparing for the role quits or moves on? You need a backup plan.

10 ESSENTIAL DON’TS

1. Don’t Rush the Process

Avoid rushing the succession process, as it takes time to identify and develop the right successor.

2. Don’t Neglect Self-Awareness

Understand your own leadership style and preferences before selecting a successor.

3. Don’t Overlook D iversity

Avoid favouring candidates who mirror your own background or leadership style; embrace diversity in the selection process.

4. Don’t Keep Plans Informal

Don't rely solely on informal discussions and mentoring; formalize the succession plan to provide clarity and account ability.

5. Don’t Exclude Stakeholders

Avoid keeping stakeholders in the dark about succession plans; transparency builds trust and al ignment.

6. Don’t Micromanage the Successor

Resist the urge to micromanage the potential successor; provide guidance and support while allowing autonomy.

7. Don’t Ignore the Emotional Impact

Don't ignore the emotional aspect of succession; address fears and concerns openly to ensure a smooth tra nsition.

8. Don’t Forget to Revise

Don't set the succession plan in stone; regularly revisit and revise the plan as needed to adapt to changing circumstances.

9. Don’t Isolate Yourself

Avoid navigating the succession journey alone; seek support from mentors, peers, and advisors to guide you through the process.

10. Don’t Underestimate the Process

Don't underestimate the complexity and importance of succession planning; approach it with the time, attention, and resources it deserves.

By following the do's and don'ts, you can navigate the succession planning process with confidence and ensure the longterm success of your professional practice or business.

FOR 35 years, KEN KEIS, PhD,

President

&

CEO

of Consulting Resource Group International Inc., has been assisting Individuals and organizations to realize their full potential. www.crgleader.com

Thoughts on Successful Succession

Î During my time as CEO/Secretary of The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia, I was able to assist many members with the sale of their practice or determine a succession plan.

Here are the questions Notary members most often asked.

1. Am I ready to retire? How do I sell my practice?

2. To whom do I sell my practice?

3. My son/daughter would like to become a BC Notary, then take over my practice. How do they do that?

4. And the BIG question: For how much can I sell my practice? What is it s value?

The first two questions are sometimes difficult for a professional to answer.

y One of the best ways is to bring in an associate with the objective of making that person a partner who will eventually buy you out.

y Other succession resources are new Notary graduates or Notary grads who have completed their internship or articles or mentorship and are ready for the next step in their career.

y Sometimes longterm staff want to make the jump to being a businessperson and decision-maker.

Valuation

The most difficult and important decision to make is how to determine the value of a practice. That often requires hiring a valuation professional.

There is usually a multiple to be applied to a professional practice. That multiple is based on a dollar amount x the EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of the business. Many other variables can influence that dollar amount, such as the practice location, the number of clients, and the loyalty of the clients who are using the professional service.

Qualified appraisers often find it difficult to value a practice. Most will tell you it is always problematic putting a dollar value on a professional practice. During my time at The Society, I was asked many times by appraisers how to value a Notary business. It is necessary to determine a dollar value when a member is doing tax planning, estate planning, or is in the midst of a d ivorce,

y Sometimes an appraiser could rely on information from the recent sale of another practice but, more often than not, no examples were ava ilable.

y A good valuator could look at the last 5 years of earnings and expenses in the practice and come up with a reasonable “for sale” number.

Numerous times, CRA would call me or be in contact to affirm the member’s valuation or the opinion of a business appraiser. I always advised them that the value could only ever be determined by how much a buyer was prepared to pay and how much the seller was prepared to accept.

Another important issue to take care of in your succession plan is having life insurance or key person insurance (ideally both) in the event that your untimely death, major injury, or health issue renders you unable to work.

That happened at The Society of Notaries a number of times. The Society was required to obtain a Court Order to put a Custodian in place. That can be an expensive solution that most of the time gets charged back to the Notary. I would suggest you contact the Secretary of The Society and ask about the current policy regarding appointing a Custodian and the costs associated with that process.

WAYNE BRAID

A good valuator could look at the last 5 years of earnings and expenses in the practice and come up with a reasonable “for sale” number.

My wife Laurie and I have been watching the Succession TV series on HBO and Crave, the story of a wealthy family whose patriarch has created a business empire in the News and Entertainment business. As he nears the end of his time at the helm, Dad wants his two boys and daughter to take over the leadership. It is a disaster—all three want to be the “boss person” and are unwilling to yield control to any of the others (Daddy always liked me best!) The series is a compelling saga of what can happen to siblings trying to get involved in the family business—Dad’s business.

The question of whether to bring a family member into a practice is not for the feint of heart! Over the years, I have seen many that turned out so very well and others that were unmitigated disasters! A number of my Notary, lawyer, and CPA friends who were successful in bringing their children into their practice have told me it takes hard work and, most important, healthy and respectful communication among the participants.

Some BC Notaries have been successful in having their adult child come work with them and eventually take over the business completely. Many were unsuccessful—sometimes with devastating results. Relationships ended and there was damage beyond repair involving grandchildren as well as other family members such as siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

For success, the relationship with the son or daughter needs to be really strong. The dad or mother must realize the child is not going to see the relevance of the “old or former ways of doing things.”

A conference I attended featured a succession speaker. When asked, “when should I start thinking about succession?” She responded, “On the first day you start your business!”

Whether you are just starting or you are somewhere else in your career journey, I suggest that if you have not started your succession business plan, better do it now!.

WAYNE BRAID is the former CEO/Secretary of The Society of Notaries Public of BC.

BC Notaries Speak Your Language

BC Notaries around the province o er many noncontentious legal services in an impressive variety of languages.

English Afrikaans

Arabic

Bengali

Bosnian

Cantonese

Chinese

Croation

Danish

Dutch

Farsi

Filipino

Fijian

Flemish

Fookien

French

Fujian

German

Gujarati

Hindi

Hungarian

Italian

Japanese

Search

Korean

Mandarin

Persian

Polish

Portuguese

Punjabi

Romanian

Russian

Serbian

Spanish

Swahili

Swatow

Swedish

Tagalog

Taiwanese

Tamil

Taoshan

Telegu

Turkish

Ukrainian

Urdu

Vietnamese

Our Planning is in Place!

Î If you've watched the amazing streaming series Succession , you witnessed a powerful patriarch reluctant to give up control of his business—not just control to interested third parties, but control to his own children. My father is a complete 180 from Log an Roy.

Robert William Simpson became a Notary Public in 1968 while juggling a family of 4 (I was born a year later).

I’m not sure if he ever imagined that one day he would build up a significant Notary practice that would be run 56 years later by 2 of his 3 sons.

This article is about succession planning, but there was no planning on his part. Growing up, I knew he had an office . . . it was my job to clean it once a week, but I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell my classmates what a Notary was. Speaking with my brother, Dean, it was the same for him.

Dean, 12 years my senior, became a Notary in 1985. Dean practised in Vancouver initially as Notary Seals were limited at the time, then joined the practice a few years later when a Seal in

Chilliwack became vacant, forming Simpson and Simpson with Dad.

With his energy and entrepreneurial spirit, Dean helped grow our firm, building on the relationships our dad had made in the community, particularly with local Realtors and lenders. That was never the plan, but I’m sure “Bob” was very pleased to be working side-by-side with his fi rstborn.

I graduated from university in 1990 and proposed to my now-wife Jacquie the same day, with the

From left: Scott Simpson, Kim McLandress, Ernie Kleiver, Dean Simpson, Virginia Ashley, Aatif Nanji

Bob Simpson

Dean Simpson Scott Simpson

plan of taking a few years off to save money and travel. At that point, I didn’t know how I was going to use my degree so perhaps I would figure it out while travelling. One idea was to become a teacher; in hindsight, that would have given me the busy Summer month-ends off. (Notaries are very busy then.)

As Jacquie and I were winding up our travels, a light bulb appeared. Dad seemed to have a pretty solid occupation that afforded him time with his family and what seemed like a decent living.

I wonder if there’s room at Simpson and Simpson for me?

So, from France, I called home from a payphone and asked if there was an opportunity. Of course the answer was yes and I quickly made my way home to apply to become a Notary. As soon as I got back to Chilliwack, I started working to learn the business from the ground up while completing the Notary education program. In 1994, I graduated and haven’t looked back.

It was never planned, or even talked about, that Dean and I would become Notaries and join the family business, but here we are, almost 40 and 30 years later, respectively, looking at how and to whom our business wi ll pass.

For the last 10 to 12 years, Dean and I have been laying down a foundation for succession to a new generation of Notaries. Will it include our children? Perhaps, but at this point, they are all either enjoying successful careers of their own or finishing their time at university. Dean has 4 children, and I have 2. We currently have 5 amazing Staff Notaries and are very fortunate they are all very busy. As Dean, then I, brought fresh ideas to the table, our new Notaries—with the benefit of the outstanding Master of Applied Legal Studies (MA ALS) Program at SFU and life experience—are upping our Nota ry game.

Having Staff Notaries has many benefits. We are able to divide office responsibilities like marketing, HR, Finance, conveyance procedures, and the list goes on. It also allows Dean

and me to take time to practise for our future reti rement.

Speaking of retirement, for us that is the main point of a succession plan. Yes, it will be cool and make us proud to see Simpson Notaries carry on without us, but what’s the point of building a business if it is worthless the day you retire? A business with value without Dean and me requires a strategy.

y First, we have to have competent, skilled people in place who can take care of clients and staff when we aren’t present.

y Second, we have to train our clients and referral sources to be confident in our entire organization and our Staff Notaries, not just the two of us.

We are happy to say we have ticked both boxes. Clients are either asking specifically for one of our Staff Notaries to serve them or they have no preference at all. My favourite thing—and this is happening more and more—is when I sit down with a client who has no idea who I am until I introduce myself. When that happens, I know we have built a company, not just a job.

The next stage of our succession plan is evolving and, at this point, we don’t know exactly what it will look like. There are several un knowns.

y How do we put a value on our practice?

y When will we be ready to retire?

y Will we sell the whole practice or maintain a small share to supplement our reti rement?

y Which of our Staff Notaries will want to be a partner or, if none, to whom will we sell the practice?

There are still many questions but we are very happy to have started our succession plan, giving us time to put the final touches on it over the next few yea rs.

SCOTT SIMPSON practises at Simpson Notaries in Chilliwack.

Protect What Matters... For Generations

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Succession Awareness

Î Being part of a family business makes its continuation feel natural, but it is the enjoyment of serving generations of families that drives the success of succession at Tong Mow Notaries— the mother-daughter Notary team of Susan Tong and Rosalyn Mow.

When my mother Susan Tong began her Notary practice in 1995, BC Notaries were less well known and a less popular profession. Many of her friends were unaware of the Notary profession and first heard about it from her.

Susan says, “Starting a Notary business in those days with no previous legal experience was a great challenge. I received my certificates from the University of British Columbia and The Society of Notaries Public but, at that time, no mentorship program was avai lable.”

In those days, the Notary profession was limited by the number of

ROSALYN MOW

Seals available for each area. As there weren’t enough Notaries to serve their community, the work-culture back then saw new Notaries opening up as sole practitioners. Many new Notaries relied on each other. My mother acknowledges her appreciation for the support and guidance she received early in her career from nowretired Notaries Catherine Yong and George Tanco.

Once her business established a stable clientele, succession planning was always on her mind. She had hopes of finding a partner to work alongside her to achieve a better work/life ba lance.

My early impressions of my mother’s Notary business were long hours of work buried behind desks covered in large stacks of paper. I am an only child. My mother would mention that I should become a Notary but I was far more interested in the ever-so-exciting field of natural health products and sports nutrition, due to my exposure to that field through my competitive gymnastics career.

It’s likely I sought escape from what I thought was a “mundane office job,” to be in an environment where products were endlessly growing with changing trends and innovation, and the work could be done without long hours or

much risk of paper cuts. After working a corporate job in my ideal position, I quickly realized my interest in nutritional health didn’t translate to passion for a career.

At the same time, the Notary profession had evolved. The lift of the restrictions on the number of Notary Seals permitted, allowed the profession to grow; practising with a partner or joining a Notary firm was becoming more common. That allowed more opportunities for new Notaries to be mentored and attracted a younger demographic straight out of university. I was one of the youngest graduating Notaries from the Master of Arts in Applied Legal Services Program (MA ALS) at Simon Fraser University; the profession seemed a lot more available to me when it removed a previous requirement for 5 years of related expe rience.

Susan holding her grandson Hendrick, beside granddaughter Freya and Rosalyn

I also realized the actual work done by a Notary was very different than what I had pictured as a child. With a combination of desk work, client meetings, and the occasional mobile visit (hospitals, care homes, etc.), the life of a BC Notary wasn’t as mundane as I had thought. In fact it offered a much more flexible structure where working harder meant a direct impact in helping a client achieve their goal—a rewarding concept that was missing in my corporate job where I felt like “a piece in a puzzle.” Any residual concerns about being buried under relentless paperwork were addressed when my mother’s firm became paperless in 2007 . . . one of the first BC Notary offices to do so.

Once I realized that becoming a Notary would offer a fulfilling career, I advised my mother of my decision. That news was met with surprise as I had always been vocal about my disinterest in following my mother’s footsteps—so much so that she hadn’t mentioned it in years. I had always wanted to pursue further education and had to take the long route in figuring out my career, to avoid any doubts or regrets.

Having me join the practice as a successor was a very natural process. We don’t recall discussing whether I would be inheriting the business. It was always about how it would happen.

My mother recalls how her clients often asked who would take over her business once she retired but, once I joined the firm, they would instead comment about how glad they were there was a successor so their children could continue as clients of the Notary practice. Most clients are unaware it’s a family business as we have different last names. When they discover the relationship, they express comfort in working with a related individual to handle their family business in the future.

Those types of connections and stories are some of the most memorable interactions we’ve had with clients over the years. Providing services to a client’s family and then their children brings us much pride in doing the work we do. We feel we are an integral part of the significant and most-often-happy moments in their lives. Whether it’s the purchase of their first home, first

investment property, or naming a guardian for their first-born in a Will, those connections are relatable and makes going to our office a fulfilling experience that we thoroughly enjoy.

Looking at the future of the practice, my mother hopes 1 of her 2 grandchildren may be interested in the profession. I feel the same but don’t plan to express that interest to them directly. I know firsthand the benefits in trying different things; the profession will be different in 20 years in light of foreseeable changes to the legal landscape—alongside the BC Law Society . . . and the ever-looming advancement of AI.

In the meantime, I am interested in having a junior Notary join the firm to allow me to spend more time with my young family. I will always be proud to have family roots as the foundation of my Notary ca reer.

S USAN AND ROSALYN practise in Vancouver

Working Hard to Succeed

Î I am a second-generation Notary Public. I made the decision to become a BC Notary after obtaining a Commerce degree from UBC and working in banking for several years.

The idea of being self-employed appealed to me as I would have more control over the direction of my career; I knew I wanted to work with people and deal with paperwork and money. My dad El Fedewich was a successful Notary; he loved his job and it appealed to me to have a career that I would also love.

I completed the 2-year Notary education program and articled with my dad for a year. It was a steep learning curve to become proficient with real estate transfers, mortgages, preparing Wills, and Powers of Attorney, and notarizing documents. My dad also prepared commercial leases and builder’s liens, transferred small businesses, and completed subdivision work. It took me about 5 years to become capable with all that work, but my dad was a good mentor and we had excellent staff who supported

me in my learning.

It would have been a daunting task to start a business from scratch; it was much easier to join an existing business. I had the benefit of a large client base, existing procedures and precedents, and a great team of employees. My dad introduced me to his business partners such as Realtors, bankers, accountants, and mortgage brokers. Because of his endorsement, they accepted me despite my young age. I was 26 when I became a Notary.

I worked hard to earn the trust of clients, my staff, and peers. To do well, I reviewed files in the evenings to be well prepared. My staff appreciated my efforts, too, and we all worked together to further the business.

The business succeeded; we have been good to our staff and they have remained loyal to us. I signed an agreement to pay $340,000 for the business in 1995, the market rate based on the revenue and profit. That was a significant sum then; my detached house cost

only $310,000 that year. The business was profitable and I was able to repay the debt to my dad (for the purchase of his practice) in about 5 years.

y To enhance my knowledge, I joined Toastmasters and enjoyed that for 5 years. Practising public speaking helped me in client meetings and gave me the tools to market my business to larger groups.

y To become known in the local community, I joined the Chamber of Commerce and helped establish the Cloverdale Rotar y Club.

y To learn more about estate planning, I worked with financial advisors and spoke at their presentations about estate planning; in turn, I learned about financial planning from them.

y I volunteered as a guest speaker on noncontentious legal topics for community groups and I continue to do that today.

Norman Witt, Trish Fedewich, El Fedewich

Photo: Robert Marlow

After I had been in business about 13 years, my husband Norman Witt entered the Notary education program. He already held an MBA and a BA and had managed real estate for 15 years.

After the first week, Norm raved about how nice our clients are. I replied that was why I had wanted to join this business.

Due to his related business experience, Norm felt quite comfortable with the work after just 2 years. We have worked together now for 17 years. We both love working as BC Notaries. Having a Notary partner allows us flexibility so we can spend time away from the business when we want and share the workload.

I have had the pleasure of serving on the Board of The Society of Notaries for 6 years, being an instructor for Notaries’ practical training for 25 years, and serving on the Board of Examiners for BC Notaries for 6 years. Having a Notary partner allows me to be away from the business to teach while the business runs along smoothly. As a couple, we have good work/life balance that allows us to pursue sports, travel, and spend time with family and f riends.

Excellent, capable Roving Notaries Greg Litwin, Michael Kravetz, and Irina Bartnik fill in for us so we can take holiday . . . they keep us rejuvenated.

Many other great Roving Notaries have worked for us over the years. We just returned from a trip to La Paz, Mexico, where we swam with a 5-metre whale shark and did some great SCUBA diving in Cabo Pulmo. We are looking forward to a fabulous holiday in Europe in September with friends. Life is good!

I just celebrated my 30th year in practice and our business celebrated 45 years in business. We are keen to continue the business and would like to bring in a Notary partner who has similar goals to carry the business forward for the next 30 years!

I’m sure glad I followed in my dad’s footsteps.

BC NOTARY TRISH FEDEWICH practises in Surrey (Cloverdale).

Trish and her dad in her early days as a BC Notary

Society of Notaries’ Counsel Ron Usher Reminiscing with BC Notary Tammy Morin Nakashima

Î I feel privileged to have spent time recording reflections of Ron Usher’s career journey. It was fun talking to Ron because every one of his ventures is a little brick in the education wall of Ron Usher—career planning and serendipity in action.

Ron: After obtaining my BSc (Hons) from UVIC in 1975, my work with a nonprofit advocacy group led me to Law School. The first teaching assistant to the initial “Computers and Law” course, I graduated from UBC in 1979 and then articled in Vernon. The work included conveyancing and Court work. The early ‘80s saw interest rates climb to 22 per cent. House sales fell and the volume of conveyancing work went to essentially zero.

So when a high school friend started a business providing software for insurance agencies, I moved to Victoria to join the company. My first contact with a BC Notary was when Kelowna Notary and insurance agent Ernie Janzen purchased the software.

My computer knowledge earned me a reputation as “the lawyer who knows about computers.” Throughout the late ’80s and ‘90s, I provided technologyconsulting and support to many private law firms and government law departments from Victoria to Ottawa.

In March 1986, I was asked to write a report for a Canadian law book publisher on the potential use of computers in law. They arranged for

me to travel to Seattle to meet a young fellow named Gates. I told them he was definitely onto something. No, I didn’t buy shares when Microsoft went public 2 week s later.

That led to designing and installing the very first law office network that used Windows and Microsoft software.

I became the go-to guy who knew about two things—technology and real estate. When fraud became a big deal, I travelled around the Province to educate lawyers about fraud prevention. The Law Society of BC was looking into title insurance and I was the only lawyer around who had worked for a title insurance company. The Law Society hired me on a 2-week contract to help write a report. Those 2 weeks turned into 8 1/2 years.

Tammy: Was that the beginning of your adventure into fraud prevention?

Ron: When the Marin Wirick/ Tarsem Gill's mortgage fraud was exposed in May 2002, I became the LSBC lawyer for the Conveyancing Practices Legal Task Force and related western Law Society committees. We built a whole new way of doing things, with amendments to the standard Real Estate Contract and revised standard undertakings and legislative changes.

The Land Title Office approached Jim Matkin and me at the Law Society in November 1998, seeking support for the introduction of electronic filing.

That led to the creation by the Law Society of Juricert. As the CEO of Juricert, I liaised with Stan Nicol, then Secretary of The Society of Notaries Public of BC, as it was obvious that Notaries would have to be included in any new system. It was essential for the success of e-filing that a secure system was needed to enroll lawyers and Notaries and assure the integrity of digital documents.

Tammy: After leaving the Law Society in 2006, you were innovative at Bell Alliance, your residential real estate law firm—a paperless practice. All through your life, there is a focus on integrity and fraud prevention. It seems everything in your career has transparency and trust as underpi nnings.

Tammy and Ron

Ron: That is an excellent way to summarize my career, in hindsight. In 2011 Wayne Braid, a longtime CEO/ Secretary of the BC Notaries, said, “Ron, come and work with us.” I was pleased in 2016 to represent The Society of Notaries Public of BC (SNPBC) as a member of the “Independent Advisory Group” investigating and reporting on the BC real estate i ndustry.

Ethics and integrity have played essential roles throughout my legal career. I had a “spidey sense” about fraud over the years and that served me well when, starting in 2019, I represented SNPBC at the Cullen Commission on Money Lau ndering.

A book from my office shelf, The Vancouver Housing Affordability Crisis, 1972, (500 pages), was the first book I held up at the initial SNPBC presentation to the Commission, as I felt it was critical that modern issues with housing in BC need to include a historical perspective.

Tammy: When I look at what I know about your career, you've had longstanding dedicated involvement in addressing awareness to fraud through your participation in matters including working on the Cullen Commission. Ethics, integrity, and education have played a key role in everything you've done. Everything ties back to bricks in your career wall.

It was evident in hearing your reflections that core values, together with an incredible respect for justice, are the foundation of every road you took.

You really do understand people and you have great musical talent and creativity. At BC Notary conferences and seminars, you are an engaging storyteller for us, with your trusty ukulele.

Throughout your varied career, I see a man who embraced technology to revolutionize the LTSA and conveyancing work and upheld values of community/humanity through the Windsong cohousing project, the Cullen Commission, and the education of the community . . . not only as Counsel to the Notaries Public and

serving on numerous committees and public forums promoting the work of Notaries. You have embraced your BC Notary Commission with a song in you r heart!

You've had longstanding dedicated involvement in addressing awareness to fraud. You are constantly in the role of educator. You eagerly provide professional education and gu idance.

y the fifth step is where the Notary decides whether he or she is willing to do that specific work for the respective client and that the elements of that legal service can be carried out in integrity and h onesty.

Tammy: Not only are BC Notaries guided by 13 key standards in our “Principles for Ethical and Professional Conduct,” BC Notaries longtime slogan “Notaries, A Trusted Tradition” has honesty as its foundation.” Honesty is our most important core value.

For

all our Notaries, the wheel of integrity will roll them beautifully through their careers— consistently doing what's good and what's right. Education never ends. It’s important to be involved in Continuing Notary Education through the BC Notary Association, CLE programs, and Notary Chapter meetings.

You always retain a sense of lightness, Ron. You have so much responsibility to others, but still you bring levity to your work. As BC Notaries, our jobs are very serious; we steward and manage such a great deal of responsibility daily!

Ron: Along the way, I have met many individuals who are visionary and who have integrity. If we're lucky, we can mostly avoid the scamsters.

For all our Notaries, the wheel of integrity will roll them beautifully through their careers—consistently doing what's good and what's right. Education never ends. It’s important to be involved in Continuing Notary Education through the BC Notary Association, CLE programs, and Notary Chapter meetings. And you've got to hire good people.

When something unusual comes up, take advantage of the knowledge of your Notary peers. Ask yourself who probably knows about this unique situation?

Ron: BC Notaries are fully trained to do many types of noncontentious legal work. They don’t litigate.

y BC Notaries “Inform, Explain, and Advise,” and then two more things happen.

y The clients make a choice about what they want to do;

A Notary in Vernon may know about the Earl of Aberdeen's water rights and water rights on many titles in the Okanagan. Sunshine Coast Notaries know all about docks and special foreshore leases.

Notaries may deal with people who can't agree and help them resolve a problem they could not resolve by themselves. Notaries’ legal services may become the foundation of longtime wealth and stability for a family, perhaps for generations. The ripple effect of good work flows through the system.

My “Newton's Cradle" demonstrates that the energy you put into something flows through the whole unit . . . everything is connected. The ball at the far end flips up. It’s the ripple effect again.

Tammy: You are also an avid volunteer!

Ron: Since 1980, I've volunteered on Boards involving the disability community. I've always had a strong sense of justice. I keep a compass on the shelf behind my desk as a reminder of my moral compass, which says the community must feel right. When there's homelessness in the community and we stop building co-op housing, our moral compass has gone wrong. Many BC Notaries are very involved in charitable works and community organizations.

use very much. It is the moral personality sin of excessive self-importance . . . thinking you know everything . . . that you're unbeatable. Sorry, you're not.

Other items on my shelf include a copy of the Magna Carta and the Canadian Charter of Human Rights Both are important reminders of the key principles of our system of Justice.

Before law school, I became very concerned about the treatment of the disabled and the institutions that housed them. I saw people who were not able to speak for themselves getting ignored by the “system.”

counsel and practice advisor at The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia at the end of June 2024. I may have some continuing involvement there, as well as with disability groups and various musical pursuits, and of course, maintain many of my professional contacts.

I was making reservations this morning to go to a marvellous music conference in Port Townsend, Washington. I will soon have time to do more of those fun things. Maybe there's a book in there, too.

The development of the Representation Agreement was another touch-point with The Society of Notaries. I was a volunteer on provincial groups for the mentally ill and the disabled when Stan Nicol, bless his heart, got the Notaries involved in the Representation Agreement project from the get-go.

I also keep a pair of binoculars on that shelf. Every complex situation needs a great scout before they need to bring in the soldiers. The binoculars remind me about being a good scout. The other thing on that shelf is a small statue of Napoleon to keep in mind the danger of arrogance and hubris. Hubris did him in. Hubris is a marvellous word we don't

I got very involved with Nidus and the plans to develop the Representation Agreement, particularly the Section 7 Representation Ag reement.

Tammy: I don't see you retiring and sitting at home on the sofa, wondering what do I do next? What does retirement look like to you?

Ron: I'm frankly not sure. I'll be done with the formal job of general

It was marvellous to visit Australia recently. Perhaps I will do a biography of Sir Robert Torrens. Vancouver Island was the second area in the world to adopt the Torrens system of land registration. The system started in 1858 in Adelaide, then was adopted in 1861 on Vancouver Island so there's a really strong land title connection between Adelaide, South Australia, and British Columbia. Of course, Torrens didn't know it, but his system has adapted very well to computer ization!

I look forward to continued participation in legal education. The years I taught in the Notary MA ALS Program were very satisfying. I’ve presented at over 200 continuing legal education programs through CLE-BC, LSBC, SNPBC, the BCNA, and many other CLE providers. Every course furthered my own education!

It has been a pleasure working with such fine organizations and legal professionals. I look forward to staying in touch with the Notary community.

Newton's Cradle

Ron’s Ideas on Retirement

Retirement can trigger many concepts, expectations, and fears.

I asked and answered these question s . . .

Q: Am I ready?

A: Yes, it is time to move on.

Q: Have I accomplished all I wanted, in my work?

A : Yes, as I look back at what has been done—and no, in that there remain some unresolved fraud matters that I would like to see concluded.

Q: What attributes do I envision necessary for my successor?

A: The key attributes? Relentless curiosity and openness to learning. It is not necessary, of course, that any attempt to “duplicate” me be made. Recent additions to the SNPBC staff and the results of current recruiting will ensure that our Notaries are well supported.

Q: What will I do next?

A : I have 3 wonderful adult children and 3 grandchildren with whom I enjoy spending time, not to mention my musical pursuits and my meditation practices.

Q: How will I stay relevant and fu lfilled?

A: I’m naturally inclined to pay attention to what’s “going on” in the world and in our communities. That spurs the need to keep up-to-date.

Q: What took me so long to retire?

A: Good question. Who wouldn't want to stick with a job that involved working with dedicated professionals and the interesting matters they have to deal w ith?.

TAMMY MORIN NAKASHIMA practises in Richmond, BC.

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Chain of Succession

Michael

Î In the early ‘80s, floundering with what I was going to do with my life, I played part-time with various countryand-rock bands. To pay my bills, I also worked at a travel marketi ng firm.

In Spring 1982, I had been training with a VPD-member friend who suggested I apply for the VPD. I did and passed the psychological evaluation. When I was set for the physical evaluation, VPD had a hiring freeze. In Spring 1983, I received a call from VPD to book the physical and commence

training as a police officer. My mother was horrified at the prospect.

My Notary father Stan had spoken to me about becoming a Notary and the prospect of running my own business was appealing. I started helping in Dad’s office on April 1, 1983, telling the VPD “no thank you . . . I have gone in a different direction.”

During the 10 years I worked with Dad, my mother shook her head many times, wondering how two

“Type A” stubborn mules could work in the same pen. Dad gave me lots of rope. He was a great mentor over the years.

No regrets with my decision. I retired in July 2020 and now do vacation relief for a few colleagues, including my “succession strategy”—my beautiful Notary daughter Alex.

Alex

Î As an undergrad student studying English Literature and French at SFU, I started working in my dad’s office in 2014. I had planned to become a teacher but, as happens with life, plans changed.

I was very fortunate to be able to work for my dad (even before I decided to be a Notary). My several years’ experience as his legal assistant was a great demonstration of what to expect in a Notary practice and an introduction to all sorts of legal concepts relevant to the Notary profession.

I developed an appreciation for the valuable services BC Notaries provide and was excited to get into a profession where I can help people through some of the most important events in their lives . . . and one that appears to run in my genes!

When commissioned in June 2018, I worked as a Staff Notary and eventually took over Dad’s practice in March 2021. In proper fashion, we did have a business purchase agreement, though my dad may regret not including a clause limiting my phone calls, especially in the early days. It truly was (and still is) invaluable to have him as a resource and sounding board for tricky files, though sometimes I have to track him down in foreign countries or wait for him to finish his golf swing.

It is especially gratifying to be able to help multiple generations of the same family; I have clients that did their first Will with my grandfather and clients whose parents (and grandparents) were clients of my dad/grandfather. Our office recently moved a few minutes away within the City of Langley, after a

total of 50 years serving the community!

Some people question how I was able to work with/for my dad, but I feel blessed for the experience. It was great to be able to see him almost every day and have him be part of my extended professional development.

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MICHAEL KRAVETZ

ALEX KRAVETZ

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Retired But Not Tired!

Î I turned 80 on June 29, 2023, and retired the next day from both my practice as a BC Notary Public in Ladner and my real estate company.

Do I miss it? Yes, a great deal.

Do I regret it? Absolutely not!

I miss the day-to-day contact with Notaries and other legal professionals, some of whom had become close friends. My clients filled my days and some evenings and weekends at my home office. All my family members worked in the same building.

To give my comments greater context, let’s start from the beginning. I became licenced as a Notary in 1987 in the district of Vancouver, but did not open a practice because I wanted to continue my career in real estate.

A couple of years later, I decided I really did want to be a Notary. I lived in Tsawwassen and the opportunity to buy a practice in Ladner had come along. I

John

applied to The Society of Notaries and was allowed to challenge the Notary exams. I spent 3 months reviewing the course material then wrote those six terrible statutory exams in 3 days. I was brain-dead on the third day . . . couldn’t even remember my bank machine code to pick up some cash on the way home.

I was duly commissioned in 1993 and after working a few months assisting the retiring Ladner Notary, on January 1994 I started work as a Notary on my own. I had been strongly supported by my wife Bryanne. My 2-year plan for a profitable practice became a 5-year plan that devoured much of our savings.

Then great things happened. Clients arrived in increasing numbers and income improved, resulting in profitability. Bryanne left her real estate/project marketing career to take over running the office and my lawyer daughter Lisa Eastwood joined the office. While we maintained independent legal practices, we could offer full legal services to our clients.

To complete the circle, my other daughter Megan Eastwood, an occupational therapist, opened her practice upstairs in our building. The whole family got together almost every day at work.

I loved what I did and looked forward to each day at the office!

Then about 2020, things seemed to change.

y COVID came along;

y real estate, a small part of our much larger Notary practice, became more challenging;

y most real estate files had additional issues or requirements involving the clients, the Realtors, mortgage lenders, holdbacks, short completion dates, and going to battle for our clients. I have to admit I didn’t dislike the going-to-battle part.

But I wasn’t having as much fun!

Bryanne and

We now have time to travel; attend a grandson’s baseball tournaments in a warm place; cruise to neat destinations; hang out in a couple of our favourite spots in Italy and France; or just enjoy being home.

Retirement allows us to spend more time at our Summer place in Penticton. We have good friends there, including a couple of Notaries who own townhomes in the same development. A bonus—it’s on First Nations lands so there is no vacant-home tax.

We now have time to travel; attend a grandson’s baseball tournaments in a warm place; cruise to neat destinations; hang out in a couple of our favourite spots in Italy and France; or just enjoy being home. Something always needs doing arou nd home.

No more 6 am starts. Our Golden Retriever Luna has learned to sleep till 8 before her morning walk and breakfast. Her walks are longer, too.

I was fortunate. I knew it was time to retire.

If you are considering retirement from our profession, don’t rush it . . . but don’t hang around too long, either. Plan ahead as I did and you will likely have someone take over your practice, maybe even fund some of your retirement income.

I’ve had a wonderful career as part of the BC Notary profession; gained much satisfaction in my work; made some great friendships; and had a lot of fun!

PS: I’m writing this poolside in a great rented house in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Succession Planning for Strata Corporations . . .

Making a Positive Longterm Impact as a Strata Council Member

Î The actions of a strata council today can have lasting impacts into the future. Some of those actions may be positive, while others may unduly tie the hands of future strata councils of the property.

The composition of the strata council can change on a yearly basis or even more often. As a result, it is important that council members make positive contributions to the governance of the strata corporation and are able to facilitate a smooth transition of the powers and duties of the strata corporation to new strata council members.

In this article, we discuss the role of a council, how council members are elected, and how a council can help build a positive legacy for the strata corporation, leaving flexibility for future councils to address issues that may arise.

Role of Council

Strata corporations are governed by a group of individuals referred to as the “council,” usually all volunteers. Under the Strata Property Act (“SPA”), there are certain classes of individuals who may be council members, including owners, individuals representing corporate owners, and tenants who have been assigned their landlord’s right to stand for council under the SPA (section 28). The owners can pass a bylaw to allow other classes of individuals to be council members, such as spouses of owners. The owners can also pass a bylaw to restrict individuals from being elected to council or remain on council if the strata corporation is entitled to register a lien against their strata lot.

Council is entrusted with day-to-day decision-making. The SPA does not detail all the decisions councils can make, as the list would be endless. Instead, section 26 of the SPA provides that unless otherwise specified, council has the powers and duties of the strata corporation.

Subject to that Act and the regulations and the bylaws, the council must exercise the powers and perform the duties of the strata corporation, including the enforcement of bylaws and rules.

As a result, certain powers and duties must be exercised by the owners, but the rest of the powers and duties are exercised by council. Some examples of the decisions made by councils regarding strata corporation finances include, but are not limited to, the fol lowing.

y Preparing the budget and financial st atements

y Establishing and maintaining the operating and contingency reser ve funds

y Collecting str ata fees

y Paying strata bills

y Hiring and supervising strata employees

y Obtaining and maintaining liability and property i nsurance

y Maintaining financial records and making them available for inspection

Some of council’s other decisions

y Enforcing bylaws a nd rules

y Informing owners and consulting owners

y Instructing strata managers

EMILY SHEARD

ELAINE T. MCCORMACK

Council may delegate some of its powers and duties to others. For example, the strata corporation may hire a strata manager to provide a number of strata management services, including paying the strata corporation’s bills from the operati ng fund.

Given that council members are usually volunteers who graciously offer their time to govern the strata corporation, they have various levels of knowledge and experience about running strata corporations specifically and various levels of knowledge or experience about running other corporate entities.

How the Composition of Council Changes

Like members of a company’s Board of Directors, the composition of a strata council usually changes over time. A council member’s tenure lasts approximately 1 year unless re-elected, from the annual general meeting at which they were elected, to the following annual general meeting. It is possible that the same person may serve on council for 5, 10, or 20 terms—or more!

It is possible, however, that a council member may not serve a full term on council. While that rarely happens, the Schedule of Standard Bylaws to the SPA (the “Standard Bylaws”) provides the owners with a mechanism to remove a council member by majority vote at an annual or Special general meeting and elect a replacement council member at the same meeting.

y More than one council member can be removed and replaced at the same meeting.

y The Standard Bylaws also permit a council to appoint a person who is eligible to serve on council to replace a council member who has resigned or is unwilling or unable to act for a period of 2 or more months.

It is important for current strata councils to help set up future councils for success, given the changes in the councils’ composition over time.

How to Build a Positive Legacy for Your Strata Corporation without Unduly Tying the Hands of Future Councils

To leave behind a positive legacy for the strata corporation, there are several things you can do as a council during your tenure as a council member to build this legacy, including

y recommending proper bylaws (including a privacy policy);

y financial planning for longterm expend itures;

y record-keeping; and

y considering technology and infrastructure changes.

To leave behind a positive legacy for the strata corporation, there are several things you can do as a council during your tenure as a council member to build this legacy, including . . .

When performing the above-noted actions, it is important not to unduly tie the hands of future councils. Some effects of those actions are not immediately apparent.

Recommending Proper Bylaws

Bylaws should be reviewed by council on a yearly basis. Bylaws provide parameters for the council, as well as owners, tenants, and occupants . . . so everyone understands thei r role.

While the Standard Bylaws are a good starting point, there are other matters to be considered beyond what the Standard Bylaws address. The physical nature of the complex and the values of the owners need to be considered. In addition, legislative changes and updating infrastructure may mean the bylaws should be updated. Bylaws regarding the use and fees associated with EV charging infrastructure are an emerging issue for strata corporations.

Sometimes, it takes many strata corporations years to comply with legislative changes. For example, with respect to privacy, the Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”) of British Columbia came into effect January 1, 2004. PIPA requires all organizations in British Columbia to adopt a privacy policy available to the public that protects the personal information of individuals. It applies to organizations, including strata corporations. PIPA requires strata corporations to handle personal information appropriately, including obligations regarding collecting, using, disclosing, retaining, and destroying the personal information of indiv iduals.

Each strata corporation has an obligation to act in a forthright way regarding how it handles personal information. Also, it must have one or more privacy officers responsible for reviewing the policies and responding to requests for access to information, to correct information, and to address complaints. We recommend providing a privacy policy for the owners to consider passing at a general meeting by ¾ vote resolution as a bylaw and a best practice.

As a further example, the use of specific brand names and product types in the bylaws should be avoided. For instance, the specific store that carries the paint colour required for an entry door may go out of business or the specific style of flooring panel approved by council may be discontinued.

With respect to budgeting, section 98 of the SPA permits a strata corporation to expend a certain amount of money out of the operating fund for a nonemergency expenditure that has not been included in the budget at an annual or Special general meeting. That section provides a default spending restriction on unapproved expenditure, together with all other unapproved expenditures of less than $2,000 or 5 per cent of the total contribution to the operating fund for the current year, whichever is less, if a strata corporation’s bylaws are silent as to an amount.

Depending on the strata corporation and what kind of unapproved expenditures arise in the community, it may be appropriate for councils to propose a bylaw that increases the amount a council can spend on unapproved expenditures out of the operating fund. Unapproved expenditures necessary to prevent significant loss or damage are dealt with diffe rently.

Councils must take care when proposing bylaws to the owners so the bylaws will not have unintended consequences that tie the hands of future councils. For example, some strata corporations have a bylaw that restricts council from filing a lien against a strata lot until the owner has failed to pay strata fees or special levies for the strata lot for 3 months. The effect of that bylaw is some owners take advantage of the grace period and are consistently behind on paying their strata fees. Such a bylaw may also create financial jeopardy for a strata corporation in certain circumstances if an owner fails to pay a special levy.

As a further example, the use of specific brand names and product types in the bylaws should be avoided. For instance, the specific store that carries the paint colour required for an entry door may go out of business or the specific style of flooring panel approved by council may be discontinued.

Planning Expenditures

Another way councils can have a positive impact on the future of the strata corporation is participating in the longterm financial planning.

Strata corporations are required to obtain depreciation reports within the “prescribed period” in accordance with section 94 of the SPA and section 6.2 of the Strata Property Regulation . There are two exceptions to this.

y A strata corporation does not have to obtain a depreciation report if the requirement is waived by a ¾ vote of the owners at an annual or Special general meeting during the prescribed per iod, or

y if the strata corporation is a member of a “prescribed class” of strata corporations. The terms “prescribed period” or “prescribed class” allow the provincial government to pass regulations concerning those periods and classes without amending the SPA itself.

Depreciation reports are important because they are a snapshot in time of the strata corporation’s repair and maintenance recommendations for a number of years into the future. They also include financial forecasting so the strata corporation can plan how much money to raise over the years, to afford certain repairs and maintenance.

For example, a depreciation report may indicate there are approximately 7 years left of useful life for a roof on an apartment-style building in a strata complex. The depreciation report should set out various options on how the strata corporation can finance the replacement of the roof, i.e.,

y full payment by special levy in 7 years;

y a combination of special levy and contingency reserve fund expenditures in 7 years;

y increased strata fees now, no special lev y later;

y and so on.

It is important to prepare the strata budget with those expenditures in mind, as the budget contains both an operating budget component and an allocation to the contingency reserve fund. Keep in mind there may be several repair and maintenance projects that need to take place at the same time or are concurrent to one another, that the strata corporation needs to undertake.

Longterm planning of expenditures can help put the strata corporation in a better position in the future to afford those repair and maintenance projects, and give the owners (both current and prospective) a better idea of what to expect to pay now and in the future for repair and maintenance.

Record-Keeping

Under the SPA, strata corporations are responsible to prepare and retain certain records and documents (section 35). If councils do not keep on top of that responsibility, future councils may be left without documents the strata corporation is required to retain. For example, strata corporations must keep all correspondence sent or received by the strata corporation for at least 2 years.

Strata corporations are also required to make certain records and documents available for inspection within 2 weeks by an individual eligible to request them. An exception: If the request is for bylaws or rules, the timeframe is 1 week (section 36, SPA). It is important for councils to have access to all the required records and documents to be prepared and retained and have them stored in an organized manner to comply with the timeframes above. That will also help set up future councils to fulfill requests for documents from eligible indiv iduals.

Council members should also obtain and use a dedicated email address for strata business so they are not using their work email address to which their employer has access, or using a home email address that other family members may access. Using a shared or work email address has current privacy implications but can also create issues for record-keeping for future councils if those emails are required and they are buried among personal or work emails.

Infrastructure Changes

Requiring charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) is one of the most recent examples of how developments in technology require infrastructure updates in strata complexes. Recent amendments to the SPA have made it easier for EV charging infrastructure to be installed in strata complexes.

y For example, the voting threshold to approve a significant change in use and appearance of common property was lowered from a ¾ vote to a majority vote of the owners at an annual or Special general meeting, if the change is related to the installation of EV charging infrastructure or the management of electricity used by EV charging infrastructure (section 71, SPA).

Strata councils should seek legal advice on whether their strata corporation needs to obtain an electrical planning report under the new regulations to the SPA and the timing of that requ irement.

A strata corporation’s bylaws should be flexible to provide

Strata councils should seek legal advice on whether their strata corporation needs to obtain an electrical planning report under the new regulations to the SPA and the timing of that requirement.

council with the authority to approve alteration requests as technology changes—there will undoubtedly be more alterations required to a strata corporation’s infrastructure to accommodate the various needs of the residents. For example, with respect to the rising global temperatures and the heat domes that British Columbia has been experiencing, strata corporations will have to consider what infrastructure requirements are needed to install HVAC systems or allow individual owners to install their own.

Conclusion

In this article we have discussed the role of council, how the composition of a council changes, and how a council can build a positive legacy for your strata corporation.

Those actions may include

y developing processes;

y recommending proper bylaws to be approved to the owners (including a privacy policy);

y planning expenditures;

y record-keepi ng; and

y considering technology and infrastructure changes.

Be careful to consider which actions may unduly tie the hands of future councils. How will your current council create its positive legacy for your strata corporation’s future councils?

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

ELAINE MCCORMACK is a lawyer, mediator, and arbitrator with Wilson McCormack Law Group.

EMILY SHEARD is an associate lawyer with Wilson McCormack Law Group.

Continuing Education Conference

TO OUR 202 TH U TO OUR 2024 THANK YOU

Overview of Seminars

It was great to be back in Vancouver for the BCNA 2024 Continuing Education Conference. We express our gratitude to the Notary Foundation for providing funding to assist in offering our second year of a hybrid (virtual and in-person) conference. The hybrid format ensured as many Notaries as possible could experience a variety of Continuing Education sessions.

Thank you to Morrie Baillie, Zoe Stevens, Kristy Martin, Hilde Deprez, and Ron Usher, our dedicated Continuing Education Liaison Committee, for their valuable support throughout the year in offering suggested topics and presenters.

We had a great start to kick us off with Hilde and Ron guiding us through PAL Updates. It wouldn’t be a presentation without Ron performing on his ukelele. The 2-hour session was followed by an update from our friends at LTSA: Larry Blaschuk, Registrar of Land Titles; and Gregory Steves, Vice President, Policy and Legal Services.

The Dye & Durham P connects a global ne of professionals with records to support b transactions and reg compliance.

about the status of the BC Housing Market. Ray was able to speak to several upcoming and newly implemented initiatives to assist with the current housing crisis in BC.

A bright-and-early start to Sunday morning after an event-filled evening of festivities—including recognizing newly commissioned Notaries, students, and of course Ron Usher’s retirement—opened with Tim Lack, a Vancouver solicitor in the business for over 30 years, and Cam Sherk, a Notary Public in Squamish and member of the BCNA Board. Private lending is the wild world of fast deadlines, brokers, sub-brokers, lender lawyers, and high interest rates. Tim and Cam spoke to how those mortgages work and what to be aware of.

With Foundation upport

Right before lunch we had the opportunity to hear from Honourable Niki Sharma, Attorney General BC. Further to her providing an update of the Legal Professions Regulatory Modernization initiative, the membership was able to participate in a panel discussion with Katie Armitage, legal counsel with the Ministry of Attorney General’s Justice Service Branch; Chad Rintoul, CEO BCNA; John Mayr, Executive Director and CEO SNPBC; Daniel Boisvert, President BCNA; and Hassan El Masri, President SNPBC.

The next session offered information on Wills and Estates’ collaboration with Notaries and lawyers. Notary Hilde Deprez, PAL Advisor with The Society of Notaries Public of BC, part of the education program for students; and Ken Vimalesan, Partner and Founder of Scion Law; discussed how to guard against challenges based on capacity and undue in fluence.

The afternoon closed with the always-popular Risk Management session. Marny Morin, Program Manager for the Insurance Captive, and Quang Duong, the Captive’s legal defence counsel, looked at recent claims and provided solutions on how to avoid mistakes that could lead to lawsuits and protracted litigation.

The afternoon session offered a very informative presentation from Rajiv (Ray) Gandhi, Victoria-based lawyer, with clients on the Island, the Mainland, across Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia,

WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

With the end of the Continuing Education reporting-year approaching June 30, the BCNA is offering two virtual sessions each valued at one CE credit, to ensure Notaries get the required 12 CE credits. Information and registration can be found on the BCNA website.

Ron Usher

AG, Niki Sharma

Marny Morin

Quang Duong

Pr esenters

Upcoming CE Sessions

Description

The Dye & D m connects a global network of professionals with public records to support business transactio co

Morrie Baillie has been practising as a BC Notary since 2013. She enjoys helping clients understand legal information. Her favourite area of the law is Estate and Personal Planning. She appreciates working with people to draft important documents that provide her clients with a sense of empowerment and peace of mind.

Enduring Power of Attorney v. non-Enduring Power of Attorney

- Signing requirements

- Alternative signing process (signing in electronic presence)

Morrie is an active member of The Society of Notaries Public of BC and BC Notaries Association. She has participated in the screening and interviewing process of Notary candidates. One of the examiners for the statutory Estate Planning exam that all candidates must pass to be commissioned as a BC Notary, she has also mentored new N otaries.

- required clauses, wording

With Notary F nued sup

Intersection of LTA: POA

- Signing requirements LTSA

- Scope of Attorney’s powers to deal with land

Process for signing POA out of province

What about POA made outside of BC for use in BC

Other things to consider in drafting process.

Currently, Morrie is a Director on the BC Notaries Association Board. Her formal education includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Arts in Applied Legal Studies degree from Simon Fraser University.

Hilde Deprez, commissioned as a Notary in 2001, has a Notary practice in Vancouver with focus on Wills and Personal Planning. Hilde is also one of the teachers for the Notary students enrolled in the MA ALS Program. In 2022, she joined the PAL Advisor team with The Society of Notaries.

TO OUR 2024 SPONSORS THANK YOU TO OUR 2024 SPONSORS THANK YOU

The Dye & Durham Platform connects a global network of professionals with public records to support business transactions and regulatory compliance.

The Dye & Durham Platform connects a global network of professionals with public records to support business transactions and regulatory compliance.

With thanks to the Notary Foundation for their continued support

With thanks to the Notary Foundation for their continued support

WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

Conference Highlights

Services a BC Notary Can Provide

1.

There are business opportunities for Notaries in various communities throughout British Columbia. Some of the Requisites for Becoming a BC Notary

• Undergrad degree with a CGPA not less than 3.0

• Interest in the practice of law

• Strong entrepreneurial spirit

• Strong communication and people skills

• Dedication to community and serving the public

• High degree of honesty and integrity

For more information, please contact The Society of Notaries Public of BC 1-800-663-0343 or visit our website, www.snpbc.ca.

BC NOTARIES ARE RESPECTED IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.

GRATUITOUS TRANSFERS

LOAN, GIFT, OR RESULTING TRUST?

Î The gratuitous transfer of assets is a commonplace fact pattern in estate litigation. A small minority of purported gifts are substantiated as to the intention of the donor, which then forces the Courts to assess the reliability of the evidence, if any, as to the intention of the donor why the transfers were made.

The issue of the intentions not being documented is probably most common in family transactions such as the proverbial “Bank of Mom a nd Dad.”

The most common forms of contentious transfers are made gratuitously through the use of joint tenancy, in both real property and investments such as bank accounts.

By reason of the nature of the joint tenancy, upon the death of a joint tenant, the surviving joint tenant automatically becomes the registered owner of the property through the right of survivorship. That happens immediately upon death and the asset does not form part of the estate of the deceased nor attract probate fees.

Such gratuitous transfers do, however, attract estate litigation, and the question for the Courts to determine is whether the gratuitous transfer was a loan, a gift, or is subject to a resulting trust.

Determinations of whether a gratuitous transfer (usually real property) was a gift or resulting trust are more common in the Courts than whether the advancement of funds was a loan or not. Such cases are all fact determinative; the purpose here is to give an overview of the law relating to each of the three possible outcomes of intervivos gratuitous transfers.

WHAT IS A LOAN?

A loan is a specific form of contract. As such, it requires mutual concordance between the parties as to the existence, nature, and scope of their respective rights and duties. Like other contracts, it may be evidenced orally, in writing, by conduct, or by a combination thereof: Biehl v. Strang, 2011 BCSC 1373, paras. 326-330.

The essential elements of a loan were discussed in Lee v. 1137434 Alberta Ltd., 2009 BCSC 284:

i) a principal sum placed with a borrower;

ii) on agreed terms for the payment of interest; and

iii) liability on the borrower's part for return of the principal with accrued interest. A loan has also been defined as delivery by one party and receipt by another of money on agreement, express or implied, to repay the money with or without interest.

WHAT IS A GIFT?

Generally speaking, a gift is a voluntary transfer of property to another without consideration. A true and proper gift is always accompanied with delivery of possession, and takes effect immediately.

That is opposed to a loan—a form of contract that involves mutual exchanges of obligations; the transfer by way of a gift involves a gratuitous unilateral transaction.

The central element of the gift is the intention of giving to another without any expectation of renumeration. The gift cannot be revoked by the donor or made void by another once the lawful property is vested.

TREVOR TODD

The central element of the gift is the intention of giving to another without any expectation of renumeration. The gift cannot be revoked by the donor or made void by another once the lawful property is vested.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS

For a gift there must be

a) an intention to make a gift on the part of the donor, without consideration or expectation of renumeration;

b) an acceptance of the gift by the donee; and

c) a sufficient act of delivery or transfer of the property to complete the transaction.

To make a valid gift, the donor must have done everything that according to the nature of the property was necessary to be done to transfer the property and make the transfer binding on the donor. McKendry v. McKendry 2017 BCCA 48 at para 31

The Court will not perfect an incomplete gift. As a result, where there is a mere promise or unfulfilled intention, the Court will not force the intended donor to complete t

The standard for proving a gift is on the balance of probabilities.

WHAT IS A RESULTING TRUST?

A presumption of resulting trust arises where a person makes a voluntary transfer into the name of another person. That is because equity presumes bargains and not gifts.

The intention of the donor at the time of the transfer is key to determining whether the transaction gives rise to a resulting trust. Generally that can be addressed by answering the following question: Did the donor intend to make an immediate absolute gift or did the donor intend the transaction to be merely one of convenience.

If it is the latter, the transferor is said to be holding beneficial title of the assets in a resulting trust for the donor.

Where there is no consideration for a transfer, the law presumes the transferor intended to create a trust, rather than make a gift.

The legal presumption of resulting trust applies to most gratuitous transfers, but it is a rebuttable presumption of law. The party who obtains the benefit of the transfer must

“Knowledgeable and Capable” 604-538-3388 CammackHepner.ca #106 – 1656 Martin Drive Surrey, BC V4A 6E7

on the balance of probabilities rebut the presumption that the transferor intended to gift at the time of the transfer, or that there was evidence of the transferor’s contrary intention.

The leading case is Pecore v. Pecore SCC 17.

The Courts are primarily attempting to determine whether the intention of the donor at the time of the gratuitous transfer was to make a gift or has a resulting trust been c reated.

The Court should only rely on the presumption of resulting trust where there is insufficient evidence to establish the transferor’s actual intent at the time of the transfer: Fuller v. Fuller 2010 BCCA 421.

The Courts are primarily attempting to determine whether the intention of the donor at the time of the gratuitous transfer was to make a gift or has a resulting trust been created.

In Franco v. Franco Estate 2023 BCSC 1015, the Court confirmed that if the transferee leads evidence showing it is more likely than not the transferor intended the transfer to be a gift, the presumption of resulting trust does no t apply.

The presumption of advancement rebuts the presumption of resulting trust. Where a person makes a voluntary transfer to their spouse or minor child, it is presumed the transfer was made with the intent of advancing the property to them, i.e., a gift.

The presumption of advancement does not apply when a parent transfers property to an adult independent child. Recent case law indicates it is increasingly questionable whether the presumption of advancement any longer applies to spouses.

CASES WHERE THE COURT FOUND A LOAN

Grenier v. Williams 2020 BCSC 462 is a case where a daughter advanced $23,000 to her father to assist him in purchasing a property. Years later, acrimony developed and there was litigation wherein the daughter alleged a loan and the father said it was a gift.

There was no documentation of the financial advancement. The Court decided primarily on credibility that there was a loan and not a gift.

Weinhaupt v. Paracy 2017 BCSC 1662 is a classic Bank of Mom and Dad situation except that it was well documented. The parents advanced significant funds to a child and spouse to assist in the financing of the purchase of a home. The case law can be divided in terms of finding either a loan or a gift depending on the specific findings of fact that are largely based on evidence of the intention of the donors.

The more the transaction is documented, the more likely the intention of the parties can be determined.

After reviewing the evidence, the Court concluded the funds were a loan and not a gift. There was contemporaneous documentary evidence of a loan, such as a promissory note, and security for the loan in the form of a mortgage. There was a reasonable expectation or likelihood of repayment once the property was sold.

The Court cited Locke v. Locke 2000 BCSC 1300 in determining whether it was a loan or a gift. (This passage from Locke was adopted by the Court of Appeal in Kuo v. Chu 2009 BCCA 405):

1. the presumption of advancement no longer applies between adult independent children and their parents;

2. between adult children and their parents, the presumption is a resulting trust when the parents make gratuitous transfers to children;

3. the Court must consider all the evidence in determining whether the parent intended the transfer as a gift or loan;

4. the factors to be considered are

a) whether there were any contemporaneous documents evidencing a loan;

b) whether the manner for repayment is specified;

c) whether there is security held for t he loan;

d) whether there are advances to one child and not to others or advances of unequal amounts to various children;

e) whether there has been any demand for repayment before the separation of the parties;

f) whether there has been any partial repayment and whether there was any expectation or likelihood of repayment.

GIFT OR RESULTING TRUST?

Anyone who intends to make a gift of real or personal property for little or no consideration must ensure the intention of the donor is well documented. A deed of gift given under Seal, along with the statutory declaration of the intention to gift, is probably the best evidence that the Courts will re ly upon.

If available, the most compelling evidence is direct evidence of the transferor’s intention at the time of transfer, but circumstantial evidence from that time is also important.

Post-transfer conduct is also relevant, but is typically treated in a cautionary manner by the Courts as it may be self- serving in the reason for the change in intention.

The Courts attempt to determine the true intention of the transferor when the gratuitous advancement was made. Only if it is not clear as to the intention does the presumption of advancement or presumption of resulting trust arise.

Where a parent makes a gratuitous transfer to an independent adult child, the presumption of resulting trust arises and the transferee must prove on the balance of probabilities that the transferor intended the transfer as a gift.

Where a parent makes a gratuitous transfer to an independent adult child, the presumption of resulting trust arises and the transferee must prove on the balance of probabilities that the transferor intended the transfer as a gift. Pecore v. Pecore 2007 SCC 17 at paras 24-26.

CASES WHERE A GIFT WAS FOUND

Franco v. Franco 2023 BCSC 1015

In March 2014, the deceased transferred monies into a joint account and real property to his third child.

The Court found he did so with the intention of gifting the monies to the third child to defeat the claims of the first two children with whom he had an acrimonious relationship. Approximately 8 months later, the deceased executed a deed of gift confirming he had gifted one half of the property as a joint tenant to the third child.

Affidavit evidence of independent parties confirmed it was the intention to gift rights of survivorship in real property and bank accounts owned by him at the time he made the transfers. The Court followed the reasoning of McKendry v. McKendry 2017 BCCA 48, related to the requirements for a legally bindi ng gift.

Wong v. Huang 2012 BCSC 975

The plaintiff was an 86-year-old man who was suing his 12-year-old great-nephew for the return of property that the plaintiff transferred to the defendant when he was 6. The plaintiff was estranged from his children and changed his Will in 2000 to provide for the defendant who had recently been born.

In 2006 the plaintiff transferred his property into joint tenancy with the infant and wrote several letters to his family, explaining he had gifted the property to the said child, and

that he had changed his Will to leave everything to him.

The plaintiff presumably had a change of heart and sued to have the property returned, but the Court held that the plaintiff had intended to gift the property to the defendant, and thus the gift was not revocable.

CASES WHERE RESULTING TRUST FOUND

The case law seems to indicate that where there are undocumented gratuitous transfers of assets, it is more likely than not that the Court will find a resulting trust unless there is clear evidence of intention to gift.

The presumption of resulting trust provides a guide for the Courts in resolving disputes over transfers where evidence as to the transferor’s intent in making the transfer is unavailable or unper suasive.

Flesjer v. Butterfield 2019 BCSC 2332

A frail elderly and terminally ill mother of four children transferred all her financial investments and real property to 1 of 4 children who was the most financially successful.

The Court found the mother did not intend to gift the property to that child. The transfer was done for two reasons: To avoid probate fees and because she trusted him as the most financially adept child to share the assets with his siblings. The Court rejected the defendant’s defence that the monies were gratuitously transferred to him for payment of all the services he had provided to his mother over the years.

TLG v. KMG 2019 BCSC 1236

This case involved a dispute between parents and their daughter with respect to the parents advancing $110,000 to assist the daughter in purchasing a home for her use. The parents won the case due to the law of resulting trusts.

The parents advanced $110,000 to their daughter in 2011 to buy a home. The parents stated it was an investment for their retirement, while their daughter said it was a gift. Neither of the parties sought legal advice or documented the arra ngement.

The property was registered as to an undivided 99/100 interest in the name of the daughter and an undivided 1/100 interest in the names of the parents.

The parents stated they trusted their daughter, but in hindsight, their evidence at trial was that it was a mistake.

The parents paid a contractor to renovate the basement suite and paid for the appliances. They used funds from their RRSPs to do so and thus incurred tax consequences for withdrawing the funds.

The matter came to a head after 5 years when the parents informed the daughter that they wished to sell the property as they had a large tax bill to pay because of the RRSP withdrawals.

In response, the daughter told her parents, "No,” and that “it was her house."

The Court found the parents had been financially supportive of the daughter for many years and had given her a lengthy education. That history of support and its nature weighed against the daughter's assumption that the funds the plaintiffs advanced for the purchase of the property were a gift.

The Court found the daughter had failed to rebut the presumption of resulting trust, so the Court ordered the property sold and that the defendant held her interest in the property as trustee for the pla intiffs.

CONCLUSION

Disputes frequently arise in estate litigation as to whether gratuitous transfers were a loan, a gift, or a resulting trust. That is often the case in family situations that invariably are not documented nor is independent legal advice obtained.

The law is reasonably well settled as to what is a gift, a loan, and a resulting trust. The Courts have certain presumptions they will rely upon when it is not clear as to the intention of the donor when the gratuitous transfers were made. The overall conclusion is that donors should obtain legal advice and properly document gratuitous transfers as to their intention.

TREVOR TODD restricts his practice to estate litigation. He has practised law in Vancouver for 49 years.

Dementia + Decision-Making Project

Resources and Tools for People with Dementia and their Caregivers

Î The Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL), a division of the BC Law Institute, released the Dementia + Decision-Making Project at the end of January to commemorate Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.

We want to keep the conversation going and share these resources to empower people living with dementia to participate in decision-making about their care. That is important because of the alarming trend in this population in Canada. According to the Alzheimer Society of BC, by 2030 nearly 1 million Canadians are projected to have dementia, increasing to nearly 1.7 million by 2050. In BC, a 218 per cent rise in dementia cases is anticipated by 2050.

Legal professionals who interact with clients from various backgrounds often work with families and caregivers of individuals with dementia. The type of Representation Agreement in place may limit the ability of individuals to make legal or financial dec isions.

Our suite of resources is intended to support people living with dementia, as well as family or friend caregivers, care partners, and health care providers. The following tools are interconnected. We encourage you to share them with people who may benefit from them.

Guide for Caregivers: A comprehensive resource that describes issues relevant to caregivers, such as capacity, decision-making, and related lega l issues

Guide for Health Care Providers: Approaches for supporting people with dementia and their families in decisionmaking and how the legal frameworks operate in relation to consent and decision-making

You can access the full suite of resources on the CCEL Dementia +Decision-Making Project at https://www.bcli.org/ccel-projects/ dementia-decision-making-project.

This project was a cumulation of 3 years of research from extensive consultations with people living with dementia, family or friend caregivers and care partners, and health care professionals. It examined the law that governs health and personal care decision-making, how capacity and consent are understood, barriers to engaging in decision-making, and strategies to overcome those barriers.

We want to keep the conversation going and share these resources to empower people living with dementia to participate in decision-making about their care.

Flowcharts: Easy-to-use decisionmaking pathways for managing health care providers in addressing various complex situations

Brochures: Information pieces on topics about law and decision-making, as well as words people may hear from legal and health care professionals

Videos: Valuable insight from a variety of perspectives such as health care providers, caregivers, and those with lived ex perience

With lack of time a common barrier, we developed the resources to offer both detailed information and quick-reference considerations for decision-making to allow readers to engage in specific topics as needed, learn about the law of consent in the health care setting, and navigate the law that fosters the independence of people who live with this cha llenge.

We are grateful for the contributions of our Dementia Advisory Council Jerry Gosling, Mario Gregorio, Lynn Jackson, Myrna Norman, Craig Burns, JP Daem, and our project partners Alzheimer Society of British Columbia, Centre for Research on Personhood in Dementia, and Family Caregivers of British Columbia.

The work was coordinated by Jess Fehrenbacher and led by our former CCEL National Directors Krista James and Kelly Melnyk. The project was made possible with the financial support of the Vancouver Foundation.

KAREN CAMPBELL is Executive Director of BCLI and CCEL.

KAREN CAMPBELL

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Eldercare Supporter Heals a Heart

Î Each month, broken hearing aids, dead batteries, empty PolyGrip tubes, and lost glasses—seemingly simple issues for most of us—become major life events for some of Vancouver Island’s most vulnerable residents.

Longterm care costs up to 80 per cent of a senior’s after-tax income, but does not include vital items like clothes, medications, dentures, hearing aids, glasses, outside health visits, personal care items (shampoo, deodorant, razors, etc.), wheelchairs, entertainment, and more. Seniors who have only their pension, Old Age Security, and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments for income, often can’t afford the things they need.

Eldercare Foundation’s Residentin-Need Fund helps restore dignity and quality of life to seniors who find themselves in such circumstances. One example is a Victoria care resident named Faye who had to cancel multiple healthcare appointments because she had nothing to wear. Due to her lack of income, her wardrobe had been reduced to just a hospital gown. “I feel like I’ve moved back into the world,” said Faye upon receiving three new dresses thanks to Eldercare donors.

While Eldercare receives many requests for practical items like clothing or toothpaste, sometimes requests are more emotional in nature.

A recreation therapist at The Summit care home in Victoria recently reached out to Eldercare about a resident receiving palliative care. The resident, who goes by the name Ghost, has been playing guitar for 65 years. When his

powerchair accidentally crushed his beloved acoustic guitar, one of his few possessions, he was devastated.

The therapist asked if Eldercare could help reconnect Ghost to the healing power of music by donating a new or used guitar. That request was outside of the regular scope of our Resident-in-Need Fund so we harnessed the power of social media to put a call-out to our supporters. Within minutes we received an outpouring of generous offers.

Retired music teacher Trent Ingram was the first to reach out. “When I saw the post on Facebook, I thought the sooner you could replace a guitar the sooner you could heal a heart .” The next morning, Trent drove from Duncan to Victoria to purchase a brand-new Epiphone acoustic guitar from Long & McQuade. He brought it to the Eldercare office and Eldercare staff delivered it to Ghost.

As he unboxed the guitar, tears began to stream down Ghost’s face. He was floored. “I’m not usually at a loss for words,” he said. “But I’m speechless. This is the nicest thing that’s ever happened to me.” Ghost then delivered an impromptu bedside concert of original fol k songs.

Trent and his wife, also a former music teacher, were touched. “My wife and I are so happy the guitar brought him some joy,” Trent said. “I’d like to think if I were in the same shoes, someone would do the same for me. I know how much the connection to music matters. Music has not only provided me with a career, it has saved my life more than once.”

Eldercare is incredibly grateful to donors like Trent who support seniors in maintaining their dignity, independence, and quality of life. Each month, more than 1,500 local seniors turn to us for help in the form of special equipment, exercise, and therapy support or needed items like clothes, hearing aid batteries, and more.

Eldercare raises funds to provide equipment and therapy support for seniors living in longterm care, assist seniors living at home with chronic illnesses, and fund research and education programs aimed at improving the care available to seniors everywhere. We invite you to learn more at www.gvef.org/.

TOM ARNOLD is Executive Director of the Greater Victoria Eldercare Foundation. www.gvef.org

Ghost with his brand-new Epiphone acoustic guitar

TOM ARNOLD

Should You Incorporate? Part 2

Estate Freeze

Î In the Winter Scrivener, I addressed some of the considerations with respect to incorporating a business—a broad topic I will revisit in future issues.

In keeping with our Succession theme in this issue, this article focuses on one tax-planning strategy for exiting an incorporated business: Estate Freezes.

What is an Estate Freeze?

As corporations are separate legal entities from their owners, one of the key qualitative benefits of incorporation is succession—the potential for a family business to be transferred between owners, often generationally to heirs. Without adequate planning, owners of incorporated businesses can often be taken by surprise by the tax consequences of their succession plan to transfer ownership of their successful business to their children.

Usually when a businessowner incorporates, the owners are issued common shares. For income tax purposes, those common shares are considered “capital” in nature, meaning any gains thereon are taxed as capital gains. Typically, those shares are initially issued with little or no value, meaning any future appreciation in value will be the value of the capit al gain.

Generally, when you dispose of property (including a deemed disposition on death), capital gains and associated taxes are triggered. A notable exception is when property is transferred to a spouse.

An estate freeze is so called, because it refers to a transaction where you lock-in or “freeze” the value of your ownership interest in the company.

JEREMY ANDERSEN

If you intend to sell or gift property to someone other than your spouse—such as your children, the capital gains tax could be significant. An estate freeze may allow you to limit your accrued capital gain and transfer future capital gains to your intended beneficiaries without triggering immediate tax consequences.

An estate freeze is a tool that can be used to restructure the ownership of your corporation by capping the value of your shares and transferring future growth to the next generation of owners.

An estate freeze is so called, because it refers to a transaction where you lock-in or “freeze” the value of your ownership interest in the company. The frozen portion of the

business can typically be used to fund your retirement, while your family members who are successors to your business can begin to work in the business and contribute to its future growth.

How Does an Estate Freeze Work?

An estate freeze is implemented by a businessowner (the “Freezor”) freezing the value of their private-company common shares that are participating in the growth in value of the company at the current fair market value (FMV).

Those common shares are exchanged for preferred shares that have a fixed value. The newly issued preferred shares can receive dividends (generally at a fixed rate), thereby allowing the holder to participate in the earnings of the company, but the exchange “freezes” their value, meaning the holder does not participate in any future appreciation in value.

The company in turn issues new shares of growth-participating common stock to the beneficiaries, at nominal value. The result is to “freeze” for the original owner the value of the company at the time of the transaction and to pass on any future growth in value of the company to the holders of the newly issued common shares, without any tax consequences.

That strategy allows the Freezor to defer taxes on the frozen value resulting from the growth in the value of the company that occurred up to the date of the freeze, until such time as the Freezor dies or redeems or sells their new preferred shares.

In addition to the benefit of deferring the capital gains tax, an estate freeze also allows you to plan for the tax that will be payable upon the eventual disposition of the property, including the deemed disposition on death. Capping your accrued capital gains will allow your advisors to assist you in estimating the tax liability, and in developing strategies for fund ing it.

When Would You Consider an Estate Freeze?

An important first consideration before implementing an estate freeze is to be sure you don’t require the future growth to fund your current lifestyle needs and testamentary legacy.

An estate freeze works best when you want to achieve one or more of the following objectives.

y Have family members take over the business after you retire or on your death.

y Minimize and defer tax.

y Income-split with family members who are in a lower marginal income tax br acket.

y Utilize your lifetime capital gains exemption (LCGE) on the disposition of the common shares in the corporation.

Maintaining Control

As the Freezor, you may want to transfer the future growth of the business to your children but not relinquish control over the business. That can be accomplished by assigning special voting rights to the new preferred shares issued to you in the estate freeze and/or by limiting the voting rights on the growth shares issued to your family.

Let’s take a look at an example of a simple estate freeze.

Mrs. X incorporated a service business 15 years ago. At the time, she subscribed to 100 common shares with a par value of $100. The business has been successful and has recently been appraised at approximately $500,000.

As the Freezor, you may want to transfer the future growth of the business to your children but not relinquish control over the business. That can be accomplished by assigning special voting rights to the new preferred shares issued to you in the estate freeze and/or by limiting the voting rights on the growth shares issued to your family.

y In doing so, she would take back preferred shares worth $500,000 and transfer the future appreciation in the company’s value to her son through new common shares of the company issued to him.

If Mrs. X were to die in 15 years after conducting the estate freeze, the capital gain at that time would be half what it otherwise would have been.

Although Mrs. X will still be liable for tax associated with the frozen amount (up to $500,000), she will not be liable for tax on the future growth of the company. Instead, the tax liability on the future growth will be taxed in her son’s hands when he ultimately sells or otherwise disposes of his shares.

The valuator feels that based on the current annual rate of return for the business, her shares should be worth more than $1,000,000 in another 15 years’ time.

Mrs. X is 60 years old and hopes to pass the business on to her son when she retires. Mrs. X feels her savings and investments will allow her to maintain her lifestyle when she retires, without having to rely on any significant income from the business, so she is comfortable in leaving her son the business.

If Mrs. X dies in 15 years, there will be a deemed disposition of all her property, including the shares of her incorporated service business. Those shares would generate a capital gain of approximately $1,0 00,000.

y By implementing an estate freeze, Mrs. X would be able to freeze all or part of the value of the company, up to the current $500,000 FMV of her original common shares.

If she so chooses, Mrs. X can also structure the estate freeze in such a way that she retains voting control over the management of the business. Furthermore, the freeze would make it possible to determine the amount of the tax liability with a certain degree of certainty and develop financing strategies for it, where applicable, by making use of insurance, for example.

Estate plans are as unique as the individual for whom the plan is being prepared. While different plans can have common elements, it is unlikely any two plans would ever be identical. An estate freeze is but one type of estate plan used for succession.

The Income Tax Act contains various provisions that can be employed as part of an estate-planning strategy, making it one of the most complicated areas of tax planning.

Readers are strongly encouraged to consult with a specialist before attempting in implement any of the strategies discussed in this article.

JEREMY ANDERSEN is a Courtenay Notary Public and CPA, CA, with 20 years’ experience working in the public sector, private industry, and public practice.

Some Advice on Succession Planning for Family Businesses

Î When Rhona Sallay started her own business in 1984, she didn't consider herself an entrepreneur.

While working as a full-time special education teacher with a school board, she created a side business to give students the extra support they needed. In Rhona's view, her home-tutoring service was merely fulfilling her duty as an educator.

Now, 40 years later, the business has become a family affair and, according to Joanne Sallay, Rhona's daughter, a unique success story about family business succession planning.

"I was used to seeing businesses passed down from father to son," says Joanne, who left a promising career in commercial banking to work with her mom. "But it was rare to see a business change hands from mother to daughter."

In the Sallay family, succession planning started early with Rhona including Joanne in the business as a little girl, something Joanne hopes to continue with her own children.

"If you're involved with something from a young age, it's part of your DNA," says Joanne. Still, the decision to leave the corporate world and work with her mother wasn't one that either of them took lightly.

"In the first few years, we were very cautious," says Joanne. "Not only was it hard to acclimate to business ownership, but the shift away from banking felt like a career risk."

Joanne Sallay and Rhona Sallay

Not wanting to rush into an important decision, the two waited a couple of years before transferring leadership. While Joanne and her daughter got started on their succession plan early, waiting too long to start the succession conversation is a common faux pas for small family businesses.

What is Succession Planning?

A succession plan gives a clear outline of what should happen when you exit your business to a new leader or owner. By having a succession plan in place, you can make the transition smoother for yourself, your family members, and employees while also maximizing the value of your business.

Some Advice for Succession Planning

Start planning early: Whether you're selling your business or transitioning out, these are complex processes that can take years. All too often, businessowners leave planning for late in the game. That can lead to confusion and headaches down t he road.

Seek expert advice: There are many professionals who are trained in different areas of succession planning— including lawyers, accountants, business brokers, family consultants, and investment advisors—each of whom can help you when it's time to pass down or sell your business.

Think about the lifestyle impact: Businessowners can sometimes get caught up in the financial aspects of succession planning and may not think about what that change could mean for them personally. For example, you’ll need to answer questions such as these.

y Will you be involved to help transition the business?

y What will you do with your time after you r exit?

y How will the business be structured and what does it mean for the family members who will remain actively involved?

y What will be best for the family, as well as the business? Preparing for those unknowns may help avoid surprises along the way.

Succession Planning in Advance can Make a Difference.

The changeover from mother to daughter ultimately paid off for Rhona and Joanne, where a smooth transition led to substantial growth, thanks in part to Joanne's corporate experience. Many small businessowners who work with family members find the process of handing their business over to someone else di fficult.

Part of their success, Joanne says, was having a longterm succession plan in place to help minimize stress and ensure her family business remained successful.

JOANNE AND HER MOM are clients of TD.

TD recommends succession planning 3 to 5 years prior to your planned departure.

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Spring Tech/Auto

Î I love my Editor. She is kind, smart, and can edit my articles better than anyone on this planet. She loves me, except for my timing—I am always late with the articles. This article was less late than usual so that’s a win.

My solution? The reMarkable 2 Writing Tablet!

Like a 15-year-old teenage boy or a 50-something dad, I am easily distracted by shiny things. That is why my writing is done in bits and pieces. I know I need to write and, as I start typing, there is an alert on the phone or the puppy has brought his favourite stuffy to play catch and that diverts my attention.

Before I know it, I have lost many minutes just scrolling through screens or tossing a stuffed giraffe into the air. With screens all around us, and cute little animals or family, it is estimated that the average person today is distracted every 47 seconds and, once distracted, it takes over 23 minutes to go back to what they were doing. Those 23 minutes add up fast during a day.

Enter the reMarkable 2—an unconventional gadget that defies the label of a mere tablet with a stylus. It embodies the essence of digital paper.

e-ink tablet truly mimics the sensation of scribbling on paper, offering a unique and unparalleled writing experience. This article is being written on t he unit.

Amid a sea of high-resolution touch displays dominating the tablet market, the reMarkable 2 stands out with its monochrome e-ink display reminiscent of Amazon Kindle e-book readers. This design choice not only provides a paper-like texture, it minimizes glare, enhancing readability. And the biggest gain is in battery life—a whopping 2 weeks—yes, that’s weeks, not days.

With a core mission to provide a distraction-free space for collecting thoughts and working, the reMarkable 2 is a sanctuary in a world brimming with distractions.

In today's tech-driven era, many companies have attempted to replicate the tactile experience of pen and paper, but none have quite captured it like the reMarkable 2. Its

The device itself boasts a minimalist design, featuring a 10.3-inch display with a power button positioned at the top left and a Type-C charging port at the bottom. With capacitive touch support, seamless navigation is ensured, complemented by the Marker Plus Pen that replicates the feel of pen and paper. Conveniently, the pen attaches magnetically to the tablet's side, adding to its user-friendly design. The pen “holder” is my one and only gripe with the unit, as I kept losing it . . . it falls off too easy.

Configuring the reMarkable 2 is a breeze, taking only a few minutes. After connecting to Wi-Fi and installing updates, pairing the tablet with a reMarkable account is straightforward. The accompanying reMarkable app, available for smartphones and desktops, enhances the note-taking experience and facilitates synchronization across devices.

Notably, the tablet purchase includes a 1-year trial of Connect subscription, trial $2.99 per month, or about $30

AKASH SABLOK

per year after that, offering seamless note-taking and unlimited cloud storage. You can use the reMarkable 2 without a subscription, but you’ll lose access to unlimited cloud storage and syncing.

So what does that mean, exactly? The device includes 8 GB of internal storage, so to expand that storage and be able to access your notes across reMarkable’s mobile and desktop apps, you’ll need to subscribe to Connect. For you budget-conscious users out there, fear not . . . you can send notes to yourself via email as well as take advantage of reMarkable’s integrations with Google Drive, DropBox, and OneDrive.

Upon activation, users can create quick sheets, notebooks, or folders with ease, selecting from various pen styles. Despite being black and white, using a colour highlighter results in coloured content visible in the connected app or exported PDFs.

The tablet offers versatile formats and writing tools, including an eraser function that mimics a pencil. Organizing notes into folders simplifies retrieval, while gesture-support enhances navigation efficiency. One particularly useful feature is the ability to convert handwritten notes into typed text, although recognition accuracy may vary.

The reMarkable 2 presents a compelling alternative for those seeking a distraction-free digital writing experience. With its minimalist design, paper-like texture, and intuitive functionality, it embodies the essence of pen and paper in a digita l world.

www.remarkable.com

The Future of Transportation Now

Î In the realm of electric vehicles (EVs), Mercedes-Benz continues to push boundaries with its innovative lineup. The latest addition to its electric family, the 2024 Mercedes EQE Sedan, promises to redefine luxury electric d riving.

With cutting-edge technology, impressive performance, and iconic Mercedes-Benz design, the EQE Sedan aims to captivate drivers seeking a premium electric driving experience. Let's delve into the details and explore what sets this electric SUV apart in the ever-evolving automotive la ndscape.

Mercedes knows how to comfort the Driver and Passengers, and the EQE SUV is as luxurious and spacious as the Mercedes vehicles that have come before. The MBUX infotainment system takes centre stage, offering seamless connectivity, advanced navigation, and personalized features. You can speak to it in natural commands, such as “turn on the seat heating,” “open the sunroof,” “make me a cappuccino.” Okay, maybe not that last one . . . yet.

The EQE is extremely safety-conscious and is equipped with an array of advanced safety features and driver-assistance systems, offering protection for occupants and pedestrians alike. With adaptive cruise-control to lane-keeping assist, the vehicle leverages cutting-edge technology to mitigate risks and enhance overall safety on the road. Additionally, innovative connectivity features allow drivers to remotely monitor and manage their vehicle, providing peace of mind and convenience when you a re away.

With all the safety, you will feel confident to hit the (electric) pedal and in the quickest electric Merc, hit 100-km/h in just over 3 seconds.

Equipped with a 90.6-kwh battery pack, the EQE offers various configurations to cater to diverse preferences. From the base EQE 350+ with a single rear motor to the exhilarating performance of the EQE 500 and AMG EQE variants, there's a model suited for every driver.

2024 Mercedes AMG EQE 4MATIC+ SEDAN

Mercedes claims a WLTP-certified range of 523 km. Peak charging happens at a rate of 170-kw with 180-km of range coming in a claimed 15 minutes. Although the battery pack is the same as in the standard EQE variants, the motors are AMG-specific—one on the front axle and a slightly larger one on the rear. With unique inverters and higher currents, the motors produce more power. They’re also optimized for repeated acceleration runs with improved cooling and heat-resistant ceramic coating.

The EQE AMG is the Maybach-like ride quality—also known as luxurious, but sedate. Some of the excitement returns the moment you smash the accelerator. Brought even more to life by ridiculous noises from the speakers, the EQE gathers pace at an alarming rate. Like its German rivals, the Porsche Taycan Turbo and the Audi RS E-tron GT, the EQE doesn’t run out of steam as the numbers climb—keep your foot in it and the hello-sorry-officer speeds happen in a matter of seconds.

As an electric vehicle, the EQE-AMG is fantastic with solid range, ample acceleration, and a tech-indulgent cabin. It would make a wonderful daily ride and still get the job done on a weekend joyride. But as an AMG flag bearer, the EQE resets the bar on what we should anticipate from the brand going forward.

Warranty: 4-year/80,000-km warranty

MSRP: $121,500 | www.mercedes-benz.ca

AKASH SABLOK is a BC Notary with the AJAC designation from the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada.

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DR. ROBERT GORDON PASSED APRIL 25, 2024

Dr. Rob Gordon passed away suddenly. He was instrumental in the creation and support of the Master of Arts in Applied Legal Studies Program (MA ALS) at Simon Fraser University. A tremendous supporter of The Society of Notaries Public and BC Notaries, Dr. Gordon has left a strong legacy. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and associates.

Outside SFU, Rob was a consultant to different levels of government in Canada and beyond, serving on advisory boards and panels dealing with a range of legal and criminal issues, such as adult guardianship, adult protection, and mental health law. He worked tirelessly for many years in drafting legislation in BC, Yukon, and other Canadian jurisdictions, as well as working on similar reforms in Eastern Europe on behalf of the Council of Europe. In 2013, the Governor General of Canada awarded him the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his work on those issues.

He wrote numerous books, book chapters, journal articles, and official reports on youth crime and youth gangs, adult guardianship law, adult protection law, health law, the abuse and neglect of the elderly, and restorative justice. A member of several professional associations including the American Society of Criminology and the Western Society of Criminology, he was well-known as British Columbia’s go-to expert for analysis on crime and policing and became a sought-after voice for all major Canadian and international news outlets over the years. Whether out on his tractor or taking a well-deserved vacation, Rob was always quick to pick up the phone or return an email when a reporter contacted him. With more than 1,500 media mentions, he received his first SFU Newsmaker Award in 2007 and a Lifetime Achievement Award later in 2023.

Although he will be deeply missed, Rob Gordon's contributions to the School of Criminology and Simon Fraser University will keep his spirit alive.

BC Notary Tammy Morin Nakashima and her husband Gary Nakashima enjoy a March “April shower” in front of Mickey’s Train Station in Disneyland, Anaheim, California . . . “it never rains in Southern California, but man it pours!”

WAYNE STR ANDLUND

APRIL 2, 1947, TO APRIL 16, 2023

A longtime Victoria resident, Wayne had 7 siblings; numerous beloved uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, grandchildren; and many friends. He was quietly proud of his Metis heritage; his great-Aunt Marguerite Belhumeur was wife to Louis Riel. Wayne was an entrepreneur at heart.

Fisgard Asset Management is a true family enterprise; his 3 children are involved in run ning it.

Passionate about music, writing, mathematics, education, hockey, football, and cats, he was always ready for a good debate. Wayne served as President and/or a Director of numerous associations including the Victoria Real Estate Board, British Columbia Real Estate Board, Real Estate Council Of BC, the Notary Foundation of BC, and was a Chancellor of Royal Roads University. Dedicated to the arts and the local community, Wayne enthusiastically supported the Victoria Symphony and other related organizations. His legacy continues.

Ron Usher with a bust of Sir Robert Torrens, and The

From left, travelling in Italy . . . Retired BC Notary Laurie Salvador, former Notary CEO Wayne Braid, with Peter and Robyn Zablud from Down Under

Scrivener at the Parliamentary Research Library in Adelaide, Australia.

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