Many residents in Canada receive legal documents destined for other countries (usually their countries of birth or former residence) which they need to sign in our presence. Examples are: A Power of Attorney authorizing your brother to sell your house in Colombia A Power of Attorney authorizing your daughter to cash-in your pension cheque in Brazil An Affidavit for China confirming that you are a student at UBC Documents to do with the distribution of an estate in your country of origin …

The countries where these legal documents will be used have an authentication process in place: your identity needs to be verified and you need to sign the document in the presence of a Notary Public. Only then will that document be accepted and valid in that country.

This authentication process is different from country to country. We recommend that you contact the country's Consulate in BC or its Embassy in Ottawa to verify the authentication steps to be taken. A list of countries that have a Consulate in BC can be found on the website of the Government of British Columbia.

To assist you further, read our very helpful article on authentication (link to downloadable article) and don't forget we speak French, Spanish, German and Dutch!

Contact us to discuss this process or to make an appointment to assist you. We can help!