UPSETTING SITUATIONS
These kinds of situations can happen to anyone:
Following the death of your father, you find a scrap of paper in a drawer on which he jotted down his final wishes.
A car hits your daughter, leaving her paralyzed and with severe brain damage.
Your mother is starting to neglect her appearance and you find her increasingly distracted. She forgets to eat and is found wandering in an unfamiliar neighbourhood.
Your spouse is in hospital after a suicide attempt. He is suffering from severe depression. You find he has left the management of his business to his employees.
Your spouse has passed away, leaving more than $25,000 to each of your children in a will.
Your live-in companion dies without a will. You have had a child together but he is also the father of two children from a past union. All of a sudden, you find yourself co-owner of your home with three underage children.
An old friend passes away, leaving you his apartment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
IF SITUATIONS SUCH AS THESE HAPPEN TO YOU, CONSULT YOUR NOTARY IMMEDIATELY!
You notary will give you the best information and advice, always considering the interests of the person to be protected. Your notary can take the necessary steps right away. He or she can prepare the obligatory proceedings, as needed, to protect the rights of all concerned.
Québec law requires the official intervention of the state to safeguard the possessions of underage children or people who have become unfit to manage their own affairs. The state has to confirm the authenticity of a hand-written (holograph) will or even to validate a will made before witnesses so that a foreign country will accept it.
Such procedures require numerous steps, and must follow strict guidelines. Your notary is the expert best qualified to help you navigate these complex formalities.
WHERE YOUR NOTARY MAY ACT TO PROTECT INDIVIDUALS
Tutorship to an underage child (known as guardianship in other provinces)
Parents are automatically tutors to their underage children. But if neither of them can act for the child, for any reason whatsoever, and they have not designated a replacement in writing, the relatives and friends of the child must meet to designate a tutor. Your notary is empowered to preside over the steps and proceedings needed to hold the meeting, make its conclusions official and follow up.
Protective supervision for an individual of legal age
An adult who becomes unfit or incapacitated needs to be protected and represented. If the individual has not signed a mandate for this eventuality, the law provides for three graduated protection systems depending on the degree and duration of the incapacity:
1. Curatorship – required when the incapacity is total and permanent.
2. Tutorship – appropriate when the incapacity is only partial or temporary.
3. The Designated Adviser. If the person to be protected is generally able to take care of his or her needs and property, but needs help or advice with certain important issues, an adviser can be appointed.
Your notary can take charge of all of the necessary proceedings, prepare the documentation, notify those concerned, call and conduct a meeting of relatives and friends in his or her office and meet with the individual to be protected to determine his condition and question him. Finally, your notary can submit a report on the proceedings to the court, which will render a judgment formalizing it.
Setting up a tutorship council
The tutorship council, which generally includes three members, monitors and makes accountable the curator or tutor of an adult under protective supervision. A tutorship council is also necessary for any underage child whose assets exceed $25,000.
Your notary is empowered by law to take charge of the entire proceedings leading to the setting up of a tutorship council, from first summoning the friends and relatives to a meeting, right up to the time the court renders its decision.
Homologation of a mandate (known as power of attorney in other provinces)
When an individual becomes unfit, the mandate he or she signed for that eventuality must be officially put into effect by means of a court judgment so that the person given the mandate may assume his or her duties. This is referred to as homologating the mandate.
Your notary is thoroughly familiar with all of the proceedings and procedures required to obtain such approval. He or she can obtain the medical and psycho-social assessments, meet with the unfit individual in order to question him and take note of his condition. Your notary then writes a report, submits the application and obtains a judgment that makes the mandate go into effect.
What if the unfit individual has recovered and wants to resume control of his or her own affairs? No problem. Your notary can handle all of the formalities required to officially terminate the mandate.
Probate of handwritten wills or wills signed before witnesses
A notarized will goes into effect at the time of death. This is not, however, the case of a handwritten (holograph) will or one that was simply made before witnesses. Before they come into force, these two types of wills, not being properly notarized, must be officially probated after the death, in accordance with the rules provided in the Civil Code of Québec. Your notary is empowered to handle this.
Letters of verification
More and more estates include assets located abroad. To transfer these assets to the legatees or to the legal heirs of an individual who passed away without a will, officials in the other provinces or in foreign countries need to ensure the legal right of these legatees or heirs in keeping with the laws in effect in Québec.
Your notary is empowered to issue letters of verification to foreign authorities, certifying the validity of a will made in Québec or, in the absence of a will, the distribution of assets stipulated in the Civil Code, the identity of a liquidator and other information needed to transmit the assets to a Québec beneficiary without any hassle.
Other examples of services your notary can provide…
Contact your notary to apply for adoption, to change the register of civil status or to change a name, as well as to apply for the legal designation of a liquidator. These are only a few of the areas where your notary excels.
You can count on your notary to help you through many important decisions and situations in your life.
So don’t hesitate to call on your notary.
Your notary – always at your service!
