FAQ

Remote or Virtual Notary Services

I am in need of a Notary in Edmonton. I am away at work right now. I live in Prince George. I own a condo in Edmonton and I need to get someone removed from title.

Our bank has asked us to use a Notary in Alberta and not one from BC. Can you do something like this even though it's long distance?

Can we sign documents over Zoom, Skype, or something else?

You do need to be here in person in front of our Notary Public. We cannot do anything remotely.

We need to make certain of your identification matches you, and that you are the correct person signing and making the oath required for your document.

That being said, there should not be any restrictions to use a Notary Public in any other jurisdiction. Meaning, you should be able to use a Notary Public in BC to complete any paperwork your bank requests of you.

Notary Publics are recognized province to province (and territories) so I suggest you contact your bank and clarify this with them what or who they require.

Selling A Property in Portugal While A Resident of Canada

I need a Power of Attorney to be used for the sale of my property in Portugal.

I own a property that I inherited in Portugal. I have buyers that are ready to sign. I do have family in Portugal that are willing to act on my behalf. What do I need to do?

How does this work?

We create the Power of Attorney (Procuracao), have it notarized here, work with the Consulate in Vancouver for approval, and then ship it to Portugal.

Creating the Procuracao takes, on average, 3-4 days to complete. The Portuguese Consulate in Vancouver, on average, takes 2 weeks to review and approve. Shipping will vary as from Edmonton to Vancouver is usually one day, and Vancouver to Portugal may take 4-7 days.

The average cost for everything is $250.00 +/-, which includes the Procuracao, Notary Public certification, fee to the Portuguese Consulate in Vancouver, courier to Vancouver and courier to Portugal.

Some things to consider:

Are you married, and do you have children?

For property ownership in Portugal, spouse and children may have rights to the property where they need to grant power as well. If you are not sure of the requirements of this specific property, I suggest you speak to whomever is involved on the legal side of the sale as they can guide you best since that is what they are there for. Most property-related transactions we see will have both husband and wife sign off. Only occasionally will the children need to sign (adult children, of course).

Is this from an estate, or where someone has passed away and they transferred the property to you?

Please be certain that the transfer from the estate to yourself is complete, where if there are any outstanding issues still related to the property, this may delay the sale.
As well, you may need to grant additional powers so these issues can be cleared up without your involvement.

Do you trust the person you are granting power to?

This is critical as they will be able to act as if they are you; when you are here and cannot take action or supervise their actions, being able to trust this person is vital.
This definitely includes family.

What we need to get started is:

Your pertinent contact and identification information here in Canada, and the same for your spouse (if you have one),
The pertinent contact and identification information from the person(s) you intend to grant power to in Portugal,
The property details, as in, where it is, if there are any restrictions on it, and any other relevant information related to the transaction you are trying to complete, and
Specific powers you need to grant, if there are other powers you want to grant them that go beyond the sale of the property, or just confirmation that they are only to do what is necessary to close the sale of the property.

The above information can be emailed to us or dropped off at our office. A draft copy can be provided to you prior to your arrival for your review.

We can time it so that when it is ready to review and finalize, you are here at the same time you are signing in front of the Notary Public, so there will be only one trip to our office.

The courier will deliver it from our office. If it is intended to come back to Edmonton, we will arrange for it to arrive at our office and to call you when it returns.

A tracking link will be provided via email so you can see when it arrives in Vancouver, and when it either returns to Edmonton or arrives in Portugal.