When it comes to legal matters, understanding various concepts and requirements can be daunting. One of those key legal tools is a Power of Attorney (POA). In Ontario, POAs play a vital role in ensuring that individuals can designate someone to make decisions on their behalf should the need arise.

At Walk-In Notary, we’re often approached with questions regarding Powers of Attorney. We want to make sure you have all the information you need, so here’s a brief guide to understanding POAs in Ontario and how you can create one.

What is a Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that gives someone else the right to act on your behalf. In Ontario, there are typically two types:

1. Continuing Power of Attorney for Property: Covers your financial affairs and allows the person (or persons) you name to act for you even if you become mentally incapable.
2. Power of Attorney for Personal Care: Allows the person you name to make decisions about your healthcare, housing, and other aspects of personal life if you become mentally incapable.

Creating a Power of Attorney

At Walk-In Notary, we can notarize your Power of Attorney, making sure that the document is legally witnessed. However, it’s important to note that we do not draft Powers of Attorney. Here’s where you can have these drafted:

1. On Your Own: If you feel confident, you can draft a Power of Attorney by yourself. There are templates available online that you can follow.
2. Through a Lawyer: A legal professional can tailor a Power of Attorney to your specific needs, ensuring that all legal nuances are covered.
3. Ministry of the Attorney General Website of Ontario: The government provides free standard forms for Continuing Power of Attorney for Property and Power of Attorney for Personal Care. You can access these forms on their official website.

Final Thoughts

Powers of Attorney are powerful legal tools that require careful consideration and understanding. While you have several options for drafting these documents, remember that it’s often a good idea to have them notarized and in some cases it is necessary depending on the intended use. For example, if you intend to use your POA outside of Canada. To be certain of the recipient’s requirements, please inquire with the recipient, as we cannot speak on behalf of the nearly infinite number of intended recipients.

If you have your Power of Attorney ready, visit us at Walk-In Notary for notarization. Our team is committed to providing convenient and professional services to suit your needs.

Remember, we’re here to assist with notarization but not to draft these documents. If you need guidance on creating a Power of Attorney, consider consulting with a legal professional or exploring the resources provided by the Ontario government.

If you have any questions or want to ask us about us more about it, feel free to contact us at Walk-In Notary. Or, as always, simply walk in to one of our locations and out notaries will be happy to assist you.

Some of clients have asked us “Why do you charge me tax when I pay with cash?” This question leads to a very important conversation about how businesses should behave.

Businesses are required to tell the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) about all the money they earn, including cash. If a business doesn’t do this, it’s breaking the law and committing fraud. You may wonder, why does this matter to you as a customer?

The reason is straightforward. If a business can lie to the CRA, they might also lie to their customers. It’s better to avoid businesses that don’t follow the rules.

At Walk-In Notary, we always do things the right way. We report all the money we earn to the CRA, which helps our customers trust us.

We believe in honesty and clarity in business. We think it’s important for all businesses to do the same, as it helps to build trust with customers. A marketplace where everyone is honest and follows the rules is beneficial for all.

Thank you for joining us in promoting honest business. Let’s work together to ensure every business is a fair business!

Travelling is an exciting opportunity for children to explore the world, experience new cultures, and create lifelong memories. However, ensuring their safety and adhering to the rules and regulations of travel is paramount. This is where consent to travel letters come into play.

What is a Consent to Travel Letter?

A consent to travel letter, often referred to as a child travel consent form, is a legal document that allows a minor child to travel when both parents are not travelling with the child, such as when a child travels with only one parent or legal guardians or with an adult that is not their parent or legal guardian. This letter demonstrates that the parents or guardians have given their approval for the child to travel. It typically includes information about the child, details of the trip, the presence or absence of parents, and emergency contact details.

The Importance of a Consent to Travel Letter

The consent to travel letter serves several essential functions:

1. Safety: The letter acts as a safety measure against child abduction and trafficking. By requiring this documentation, authorities can better ensure that the child has not been unlawfully removed from their home.
2. Smoother travel: This document helps to streamline travel processes at border crossings and immigration checks. By presenting a consent to travel letter, authorities can quickly confirm the child’s permission to travel, thus minimizing unnecessary delays.
3. Legal requirement: In some cases, this letter is a legal necessity. Several countries require a consent to travel letter for unaccompanied minors or children travelling with one parent, thereby ensuring the legality of the child’s travel.

Walk-In Notary: Your Consent to Travel Letter Solution

At Walk-In Notary, we understand the crucial role that a consent to travel letter plays in ensuring your child’s safe and legal journey. To assist you in this process, we offer two essential services:

1. Drafting the Consent to Travel Letter: If you are uncertain about the contents of the letter or how to format it correctly, our experienced team can draft the letter for you. We ensure that it meets all the necessary requirements and is tailored to your specific situation.
2. Notarizing the Consent to Travel Letter: If you have drafted your letter or have a pre-filled form, we can provide our notary services to authenticate the document. By notarizing the letter, we add an extra layer of security and authenticity by creating evidence that the child’s parent(s) did in fact sign the letter.

Our Process and How It Works

Please note that consent to travel letters must be notarized in person at our offices – they cannot be done online due to the crucial identity verification process. However, to save you time, you can submit the content for the letter online to the specific Walk-In Notary location you intend to visit. This way, our notary can prepare the letter in advance of your attendance at our office. If you don’t have time to do this, it’s ok, our notaries are pretty quick at drafting these letters on the spot – so just walk in!

Once your letter is drafted or your form is filled, simply walk into our office and one of our notaries will verify the information, confirm identities, and notarize the document. We are dedicated to making the process as smooth and time-efficient as possible while ensuring your child’s safe and legal journey.

Whether you’re unsure about the process or need professional assistance in drafting or notarizing a consent to travel letter, Walk-In Notary is here to help. Take the stress out of preparing for your child’s journey with our expert services. Contact us today or visit our office to get started. Safe travels!

 

Consent to Travel Letters: A Good Idea

We are often asked about Consent to Travel Letters as people are sometimes told that these letters are “recommended”, but not “required”.  Are they worth it?

What are Consent to Travel Letters?

Simply put, these letters give permission for someone to travel outside of Canada with a child. The custodial parent(s) give permission for the child to leave Canada and are used in the following situations:

• When one parent travels abroad with the child, without the other parent.
• When the child travels abroad with a third party
• When the child travels abroad without adult accompaniment.

 

Why are they Used?

Parents sometimes don’t understand why these letters are requested.

We are told:

“I’m the child’s parent, shouldn’t I be able to take my child anywhere I want?”

“We have the same surname, so travelling together shouldn’t be a problem.”

“We are only driving across the border for a day trip, so no one would ask for this letter.”

“We weren’t asked for a letter last time we travelled, so it shouldn’t be a problem if we don’t have a Consent to travel letter.”

The primary purpose of Consent to Travel letters is to safeguard the child’s well-being. In rare cases, a parent or other individual may abduct the child amidst tumultuous marital or relationship disputes. Sometimes, the child is taken out of the country for illicit reasons, such as evading one or both parents. Once the child is outside Canada, locating and returning them can be extremely challenging. A notarized Consent to Travel letter provides border officials with verifiable proof that the child has parental permission to travel, significantly reducing the risk of abduction.

Consent to Travel letters are often mandatory when crossing international borders. Instances have occurred where parents were denied permission to travel because they lacked a notarized Consent letter. Regardless of whether you share a surname with your child, border agents may still request this document. The duration or distance of your trip does not exempt you from this requirement; even brief day trips from Ontario to New York State are subject to it.

While border agents may not always ask for a Consent to Travel letter, they frequently do. To ensure a smooth trip, be prepared with the necessary documentation. Our offices offer walk-in notarization services, usually taking just a few minutes. Additionally, we can help you draft the letter, streamlining the entire process.

We look forward to assisting you.

It is not uncommon to encounter situations where a certified copy of an original document is required. The process to obtain a certified copy is typically simple. Bring the original document (e.g., your driver’s license) to the notary’s office, where the notary will create a photocopy and apply their seal and stamp, verifying that they have seen the original and the photocopy is an accurate representation of it.

However, what if the original document is unavailable, either because it has been misplaced or never issued, as in the case of some long-form birth certificates? In such instances, the notary cannot confirm that they have seen the original. Nevertheless, if the document’s owner (i.e., the client) knows or believes their document to be a true copy of the original, it is possible for the client to sign a brief oath, swearing or affirming the copy’s accuracy. The notary can then administer this oath. It is important to note the distinction between the first scenario, where the notary confirms the copy’s authenticity, and the second, where the client attests to its accuracy under oath.

In most cases, this alternative method of certifying a true copy will be accepted by the recipient. However, as a precautionary measure, we always recommend that clients confirm with the intended recipient whether this form of notarization will be sufficient before visiting our office.

Notaries play a crucial role in authenticating and witnessing the signing of sensitive and critical documents. To mitigate the risk of fraud and maintain the integrity of the process, notaries are required to work exclusively with original documents. This includes verifying the identity of the individuals involved in the transaction by examining their original identification documents.

In the event that you do not have your original ID with you, the notary may be unable to proceed with the notarization process. Relying on photocopies or digital images of identification documents, such as those displayed on a smartphone, is not considered sufficient proof of identity for notarization purposes. Consequently, it is essential to ensure that you have your original identification with you to avoid any delays or complications during the notarization process.

 

Throughout this week, at our Kitchener-Waterloo office, you will have a chance to enter a draw to win an Easter gift basket. Please ask the notary for details when you arrive at our office.

What follows may seem obvious to some of you, however, it isn’t to everyone, so we have taken the time to explain it as clearly as we can.

HOW WE IDENTIFY CLIENTS
When we witness someone sign a document, we have to identify the person to ensure that the person that is named in the document is the actual person that is signing the document.

The only way that we can identify a person is by examining their valid government-issued photo identification. All notaries must abide by this legal requirement. We cannot, for example, identify someone on the basis of their verbal statement, someone else’s statement, a business card, reputation, etc.

Summary of what we consider to be valid ID:
1. The ID must not be expired
2. The ID must contain a photo
3. The ID must be issued by a government (examples include, but are not limited to, Driver’s license, Passport, PR card, etc.)

Finally, note that we require original ID. We cannot rely on photocopies, images on phones, etc.

ID-DOCUMENT MISMATCH
As stated, the name on the document and the name on the ID must match. In the event of a mismatch, the document should be changed to reflect the person’s current legal name. If the name on the ID isn’t the person’s legal name, then the ID must be updated.

A situation we sometimes encounter is where the document contains a person’s former name. For example, the document might state the name as “Mary Thompson” (a maiden name) but the ID lists “Mary Tay” (a married name). We cannot witness the signature of “Mary Thompson” because she no longer exists, for our legal purposes. We can only witness the signatures of individuals under their current legal name, not under their former legal name. The solution here is to modify the document to “Mary Tay” and to sort out the name change with the recipient party, perhaps by providing the recipient with a statutory declaration that explains that “Mary Tay” was formerly known as “Mary Thompson” and that she changed her name as a result of a marital contract.

The presence or absence of middle names also matters. If a document lists a middle name, then the ID should also list the middle name. If the middle name is missing from the ID, it’s a problem. If the middle name is included on the ID but it’s missing from the document, it is much less problematic. Here’s a summary of this:

SCENARIO A
ID lists: John Smith
Document lists: John Alexander Smith
Problem. The document needs to be modified.

SCENARIO B
ID lists: John Alexander Smith
Document lists: John Smith
Less problematic. It would be ideal to resolve the discrepancy but we can proceed with the notarization even if the discrepancy is not resolved.

The order of middle names also matters. The first name must appear first on the document, the middle name must appear in the middle, and the last name must appear last. People sometimes get confused because their last names appear first on their driver’s license. Note, however, that on a driver’s license the last name is followed by a comma (“,”) denoting that what follows (i.e. the first name) is in fact what ought to precede and that, therefore, the name that appears first is actually the last name. It is for this reason that “John Alexander Smith” and “Smith, John Alexander” indicate the exact same name.

If you have any questions about any of the above, we encourage you to contact one of our offices, or to email us directly at info@walkinnotary.com.

We are happy to announce that we have opened up a new office in Barrie, Ontario. Our office is located at 92 Caplan Avenue, in the Suiteworks building. As with all of our offices, not appointments are needed – you can just walk in during our office hours. There is plenty of parking in our building parking lot. When you arrive at the main lobby, ask reception for Walk-In Notary.

We are often asked to notarize powers of attorney (POAs). The problem is that there are many ways to notarize a document. Sometimes clients ask us to “just stamp it”. Please note that our seals and stamps are not arbitrary. They must always be accompanied by some sort of statement. We cannot “just stamp” a document.

Let’s explore all the ways that a power of attorney can be notarized:

1) WITNESSING THE SIGNATURE OF THE EXECUTANT

The Executant is the person that is giving away power to someone else. We can notarize an original POA by stating that we witnessed the executant sign it. For this to happen, the Executant has to attend our office with government-issued photo ID and sign in front of us.

WITNESSES

Some powers of attorney do not require witnesses, only a notary’s signature. If that’s the case, bring your POA to our office along with ID that matches the name on you POA and sign it in front of the notary.

However, most powers of attorney, and in particular Ontario powers of attorney, require two witnesses. This means that the executant needs to bring at least one person with them to the office to witness the executant’s signature. The notary can be the other witness, in most cases. In some cases, the POA will require two witnesses in addition to a notarization. That means that you have to bring two witnesses with you.

Please note that your witness has to be a disinterested party that does not stand to gain from you signing the power of attorney. This means that the person you are giving power to cannot be the witness. In many cases, your spouse, child, parent, also cannot act as a witness.

The witness requirements will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and from recipient to recipient. Therefore, we urge you to find out the requirements prior to attending our office. Walk-In Notary cannot advise you as to the requirements of your POA because that would constitute legal advice, which we cannot provide. Furthermore, it would be impossible for us to contact and/or learn about the requirements of every type of recipient in every country. We have notarized thousands of POAs that have gone to hundreds of different countries, all with different requirements.

CAN THE WITNESSES SIGN AT DIFFERENT TIMES AND/OR AT DIFFERENT PLACES?

Take a look at this example that can be found at the bottom of many POAs that we come across regularly:

This structure implies that two witnesses are required as well as a notary. The “Before” implies that the notary is to sign in that section. However, by looking at the document all we can do is guess that this is the intention of the recipient and/or whoever drafted the document. That said, let’s assume that in this example you received confirmation that the Executant has to sign in front of two witnesses as well as a Notary Public. The question that comes up is: does everyone have to sign at the same time? The answer is that it depends on the requirements of the recipient. In most cases, from our experience, the most prudent thing to do is to have everyone (Executant, two witnesses, and Notary) sign at the same time and place. However, sometimes this is not possible, or it’s inconvenient. If that’s the case, we urge you to first contact the recipient and obtain confirmation that you can sign in front of a notary and at a later time and place sign again in front of two witnesses, or vice versa (witnesses first then notary).

2) CERTIFIED COPY OF THE POWER OF ATTORNEY

In this case we would make a photocopy of an original POA and state on the photocopy that the copy is a true copy of the original which we have seen. Anyone can bring the original POA for us to certify because we do not need to witness anyone’s signature.

Which is the right method? Should you choose 1 or 2? Or all?

This depends entirely on what you are trying to accomplish and/or what a third-party has requested from you. For example, banks often require a certified copy of a POA for their records. They might instruct you to “Notarize the POA”. If that is the case, seek clarification. Ask: “Do you want me to have a notary witness the signature of the executor or do you want me to have the notary make a copy of the original POA and certify that the copy is a true copy of the original?”

Please note, that in the example above, the Notary will not know what the bank wants from you. You have to find out. At Walk-In Notary, we do not contact third parties (i.e. the recipient) on your behalf. And without communicating with the recipient there is no way to know exactly what they require. You can read more about our policies and requirements on our instructions page.

Finally, please note that you can learn more about Ontario’s POA requirements on the ministry website.