Westside Law: Wills Estate Trust Lawyer Notary Public Vancouver BC

Learn the reasons why it is usually advantageous to hire a lawyer for assistance with legal issues in this short article.

If you need legal help or advice with a wills, estates or trusts matter, you need a lawyer who is fully trained in these areas. While it may appear to be a simple task to make a will, it is often more complicated than it first seems, and a lawyer will be able to identify and deal with the issues involved.

Why use a lawyer for simple legal procedures?

Things that look simple may actually be a lot more complicated than they seem. People sometimes think that because procedures and documents or forms look simple, the legal service is also simple. But legal transactions are often complex. Lawyers will analyze how the law applies to your particular situation. They will fully consider all of the issues before advising you how the law applies to you and which procedures or documents you need.

Estate planning documents may be the most important legal documents that you will ever make. They have to be prepared properly because if there’s a mistake, it may be too late to fix it. In addition, if there is a mistake, it may cost your estate (and your heirs) many thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars to correct.

Why use a lawyer instead of a notary public?

A lawyer has much more training and expertise in the law and can give you service that is more complete in a wider range of areas. For example, if a will or real estate transaction turns out to be complicated, a notary may need to send you to a lawyer for legal advice.

Most lawyers get a university degree before they go to law school. At law school, they study law full-time for three years. Then they take 10 weeks of intensive training and must pass a series of bar admission exams. All law students must also apprentice for 9 months with an established lawyer before they can work on their own.

In BC, notaries take a two-year, part-time correspondence course. Before 1989, the part-time training course was 6 months. Notaries don’t have to apprentice before working on their own.