SIGNING ALBERTA LAND TRANSFER DOCUMENTS
There are a
number of documents which must be created and signed respecting every purchase
and sale of real estate in Alberta. Some of the documents are for
internal use or are documents that are for the Buyer, Seller and the
Lender only.
There are, however, documents which must be registered at the Land Title
Office. Most of these documents must be prepared on Forms
approved by the Land Title Office and more importantly for us, they must
be executed (signed) properly or they will be rejected by the Land Title
Office. Below,
we will set out the MANDATORY DOCUMENTS required by the Land Title
Office and indicate what is required to execute these documents
correctly so that they will be accepted at the Land Title Office.
If the following is not clear to you and you have questions respecting
executing a particular document, please
Contact My Office. We
recommend you email or fax us a copy of the signed documents, BEFORE YOU
RETURN THE DOCUMENTS TO US, so that we can review them to ensure they
are signed correctly. We
would be pleased to help.
PLEASE NOTE: 1. IF
YOU ARE EXECUTING DOCUMENTS BY WAY OF A POWER OF ATTORNEY, PLEASE
READ THIS.
2. IF SIGNING FOR A
CORPORATION,
CLICK HERE
All documents should be reviewed for accuracy, however they should be
correct. If you believe there is an error, please contact us
before you make any changes. If changes are necessary, we will
advise you how they should be done.
Upper Johnson Canyon, Banff National Park
A. TRANSFER
OF LAND:
The Transfer of Land is obviously an important document as this
is the document the Seller signs indicating agreement to convey
the land described therein to the Buyer. Please
Click Here to see an example.
There are four (4) places on the Transfer of Land which need completion:
1. Date - please insert the number of
the date. If the "month" has been left
blank, please insert, in words, the month. 2.
Signature - on the right hand side of the Transfer, please sign
on the signature line with your normal signature. 3.
Witness - the witness to your signature signs on the left hand
side of the Transfer. The witness does not have to be a Lawyer,
Notary or anyone with an official office. The witness cannot be a
party to the document nor a spouse who is consenting respecting Dower rights. 4.
Residency Certificate - if you are a resident of Canada, then you
sign on the signature line. If you are NOT A RESIDENT, do not sign
the signature line and please call us. Please ensure that
we are aware that you are a Non-Resident as we will be obliged to
withhold some of the sale proceeds from you until a Clearance
Certificate is obtained. Please
Click Here
to learn more about Non-Resident Sellers.
Click Here
to read the pages from the Alberta Land Title Manual on Transfers of
Land.
B.
AFFIDAVIT OF EXECUTION:
The Affidavit of Execution is where the witness in the Transfer of Land
swears that he saw the Seller sign the Transfer of Land.
PLEASE NOTE: If there is more than one witness, then each witness must
complete an Affidavit of Execution.
Click Here to see an example. The Affidavit
of Execution needs to be completed in three (3) places: 1.
Witness's Name - must be PRINTED at the top of form. The
witness cannot be a party to the document nor a spouse with Dower
rights. 2.
Witness's Signature - the Witness must sign on the line
indicated. 3. "Sworn Before Me ..." -
is the "Official" before whom the witness swears as to the correctness
of the Affidavit of Execution. Before whom the witness can swear
depends upon where the Affidavit of Execution is being sworn. a.
Sworn Within Alberta: Normally,
this would be before a Commissioner for Oaths in Alberta, Lawyer or
Notary Public.
The Official must sign and legibly print or stamp his name below his
signature. Although it doesn't appear to be mandatory, it is good
practice for the Official to "use his stamp" which should include his address and official title.
Click Here to read detailed
instructions from the
Alberta Land Title Manual on Affidavits sworn within Alberta. b.
Sworn Outside of Alberta: Generally,
Affidavits sworn outside of Alberta, but within Canada, must be before a
Notary or a Lawyer. If you are swearing an Affidavit OUTSIDE OF
CANADA, please
Click Here and Review these detailed
instructions from
the Alberta Land Title Manual as to other "Officials" before whom you
can swear the Affidavit. C.
AFFIDAVIT OF TRANSFEREE:
The Affidavit of Value is signed and sworn to by the "Transferee"
(Buyer). This is where the Buyer swears as to the value of the property
being purchased and is basis upon which registration fees are paid.
In a normal transaction, this would be completed by the Buyer AFTER the
Seller has signed the Transfer of Land, Affidavit of Execution and
applicable Dower Act document.
Click Here for an example. The Affidavit of Transferee needs to be
executed in four (4) places: 1.
Transferee's Name - must be PRINTED at the top of form. 2.
Transferee's Signature - the Buyer must sign on the line
indicated. 3. Paragraph 2 Consideration
- in Paragraph 2, the Buyer must indicate how they are paying for the
property, i.e.. Cash or Cash and Mortgage or Cash and 2006 Porsche
Carrera 4. For more information on this,
Click Here
to review the section in Transfer of Land on this issue. 4.
"Sworn Before Me ..." - is the "Official" before whom the witness
swears as to the correctness of the Affidavit of Execution. Before
whom the witness can swear depends upon where the Affidavit of Execution
is being sworn. a. Sworn Within Alberta:
Normally, this would be before a Commissioner for Oaths in Alberta,
Lawyer or Notary Public.
The Official must sign and legibly print or stamp his name below his
signature. Although it doesn't appear to be mandatory, it is good
practice for the Official to "use his stamp" which should include his
address and official title.
Click Here to read detailed
instructions from the
Alberta Land Title Manual on Affidavits sworn within Alberta. b.
Sworn Outside of Alberta: Generally,
Affidavits sworn outside of Alberta, but within Canada, must be before a
Notary or a Lawyer. If you are swearing an Affidavit OUTSIDE OF
CANADA, please
Click Here and Review these pages from
the Alberta Land Title Manual as to other "Officials" before whom you
can swear the Affidavit. D.
DOWER ACT:
In most purchases and sales, the Dower Act needs to be complied
with, unless both husband and wife are registered on title. We
will provide the correct Form to be completed, based upon what you have
told
us. If Dower Act
compliance is needed, the appropriate Form will need to be executed in
the same manner as set out in the Affidavit of Execution section set out
above. To read more about the Dower Act,
Click Here
E.
MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS:
If you are borrowing money from a Lender, there will be a number of
documents which will need to be signed by you. The Mortgage is the
only document we really are concerned with regarding proper execution as
it must ultimately be registered at the Land Title Office.
You will see which areas of the Mortgage documents need to be
completed based upon the which sections we have completed. The
Mortgage is completed similarly to the Transfer of Land and Affidavit of
Execution above. For instance, there will be a line for you to
sign your name and also a line for witness to sign. There is also
an Affidavit of Execution to be completed in the same manner as set out
above. Also, there may be a Dower Affidavit to complete.
Please follow the instructions set out above.
If there are any questions, please call us.
F.
POWER OF ATTORNEY:
A Power of Attorney is a document whereby the Donor grants the right to
the Attorney to do what is set out in the Power of Attorney.
The format for an Attorney to sign is as follows:
_____________________________________________
"Bob Smith, by his Attorney, Mary Smith pursuant to
a Power of Attorney dated May 1, 2007"
The Attorney signs her own name, NOT the name of the Donor.
So, if Bob Smith granted a Power of Attorney to Mary Smith, then when
Mary Smith signs a document on behalf of Bob Smith, she would sign the
document with her own name.
The Affidavit of Execution is completed in the normal manner by the
witness, except that the Affidavit will have been changed by my Office
to reflect that an Attorney signed the document.
Assuming we know that documents are being executed under a Power of
Attorney, we will want to see the Power of Attorney to ensure it is
registered at the Land Title Office or is capable of registration and to
ensure the Attorney has the necessary power to deal with real estate.
We will then set up the documents in a format to be executed by the
Attorney. To read
more about the Land Title Office procedures respecting General and
Specific Powers of Attorney
CLICK HERE
The Land Title Office also allows the filing of Enduring Powers of
Attorney which basically is a form of Power of Attorney that does not
cease to be effective when the Donor becomes mentally incapacitated.
CLICK HERE to read more details
respecting Enduring Powers of Attorney.
We would be pleased to prepare a Power of Attorney
for you should the need arise.
G.
CORPORATIONS:
When a Corporation is executing documents, it must either:
To read more respecting Land Title Procedures respecting Corporations,
CLICK HERE
RESPECTING GETTING ALL OF THE FOREGOING DOCUMENTS EXECUTED PROPERLY, IT
IS BEST TO GET IT DONE CORRECTLY THE FIRST TIME VERSUS HAVING TO
SEND THEM BACK TO YOU TO BE DONE AGAIN AND POSSIBLY AFFECTING THE
PURCHASE AND SALE.
CONTACT US IF IN DOUBT
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