Need a certified true copy of your diploma? Want to get a legal document authenticated and attested? Trying to make a valid will? Drafting an affidavit? In all of the above-mentioned circumstances, there is one indispensable person to such procedures and that person is a notary Montreal public or a public notary.
In Montreal, a notary is a public officer recognized by the state who provides necessary legal assistance to ensure the validity of your documents and transactions.
History of Notary Montreal Public
The origin of a Notary Montreal public can be traced to Quebec’s legal system. The passage of the “Treaty of Paris” in 1774 allowed people to live under the French civil law and keep their religion. Further, Canada was later on divided into two halves — Quebec and Ontario (Lower and Upper Canada respectively) were created in 1847. Quebec follows the French civil law system and in much the same manner, as does Montreal since it is the largest city in that province.
Now since Quebec and in turn Montreal’s private law is based on French civil law, the notarial practice follows the scrivener tradition. Notaries in Montreal are actually a departure from notary services in the United States or most parts of Canada – generally, their powers are limited to duties such as administration of oaths, providing acknowledgments and certifying true copies, witnessing signatures on legal documents and the like.
Notary Montreal and Quebec is actually more properly referred to as notaries or civil law lawyers. This means that unlike other countries and states, Montreal notaries must have a degree in civil law and be full-fledged lawyers and with a greater area of practice unlike a notary public in the U.S. who may simply be appointed by the government without the necessity of being a lawyer. Compared to Notary Montreal public who is, for all intents and purposes except litigation a legal professional, U.S. notaries have no legal authority and are considered as “lay notaries”.
What is a Notary Montreal Public?
That said, what exactly is a Notary Montreal Public? First, to be eligible to be a notary in Montreal, one should hold a degree in either LL.L (Licentiate of Laws), LL.B (Bachelor of Laws), or B.C.L. (Bachelor in Civil Law). Aside from this, one cannot be a notary unless he completes the one-year notarial law Masteral and undergoes trainee ship before being able to practice. The extra effort undertaken however, makes a notary Montreal’s practice wider because other than litigation, he may deal in all other aspects of the law.
Second, a Notary Montreal public is more correctly referred to as a civil-law notary. In relation to his expanded powers compared to a notary public, a notary Montreal
also has the right to practice law and dispense legal advice and can even prepare wills and different types of contracts and instruments in writing. The field of a civil-law notary is generally confined to the practice of private law such as family law, estate and testaments, property law, agency law, even the law on obligations and contracts.
Duties of a Notary Montreal Public
That said, the duties of notary Montreal aside from the above-mentioned are as follows:
- Take testimony, affidavits, or depositions
- Draft affidavits or commission affidavits of services
- Provide official authentication or witnessing of signature
- Certify school or college diploma certificates or other documents as true copies
- Draft or prepare wills, mortgages, and other kinds of legal documents
- Provide the following statutory declarations for: confirmation of identity, marital status, or ownership of property
- Provide duplicate original notarization
- Note and protest bills of exchange
- Prepare ship protests
Most of these duties are important for people who are applying for a passport (in order to certify the applicant’s identity), for Consent to Travel documents for minors traveling without a parent or a guardian, and also for permanent resident applications.
Likewise, part of a notary’s services in Montreal includes being a legal adviser and keeping a record of all transactions it handled. Further, there are strict rules for a civil-law attorney to comply with in terms of drafting legal documents but he is exclusively entitled to provide authenticity to deeds and other legal instruments.
Take note however, that despite possessing all these powers and duties, a notary in Montreal cannot represent or appear in his client’s behalf in court. But, they may still act in behalf of all parties (through a special power of attorney).
Clearly, notary services are important in every person’s transactions because it eliminates the risk of fraud because a large part of a Montreal notary’s duties are to verify or certify documents as well as identities. In banks, law offices, or establishments which is in the business of buying and selling real property, a Notary Montreal is an integral part to its operations.
Documents prepared by a Notary Montreal public are called notarial acts and is accorded probative value in any civil court. This means once your instrument or document is signed by notary Montreal, it gives rise to the presumption that the document is valid and is a true record of the facts asserted therein.
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