There are multiple scenarios whereby fraudsters will attempt to have you wire funds to a different account than the one that you had intended to fund. Unfortunately, some of those attempts are successful. LAWPRO has received such claims and heard of many others. Here are some tips to assist you if such a fraud happens… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention
Are you wondering why you aren’t seeing more LAWPRO posts in your Facebook news feed? (or seeing too many posts from your Aunt Helga?). Facebook uses certain algorithms to decide what you see, and gives preference to companies who pay to get priority in your feed. With a few clicks, you can make changes to… Read More »
Categories: Technology
The recent increase in the number of frauds – many involving counterfeit financial instruments – have been a wake-up call to the bar on two fronts: First – fraudsters are targeting all lawyers, not only real estate practitioners. For more on this, see LAWPRO’s Fraud Fact Sheet. Second – that there is some confusion about… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention
Canada’s HST New Housing Rebate program, created under s. 254 of the Excise Tax Act, offers significant economic relief to qualifying purchasers of qualifying properties. However, the eligibility criteria are complicated, and have been strictly applied by courts. To avoid claims based on a client’s non-receipt of the rebate (or on having had it clawed… Read More »
Categories: Real Estate
The following are some of the questions you may want to ask yourself to help assess whether or not you should secure additional insurance coverage limits. When reviewing these questions and assessing your exposure, remember to factor in both potential defence costs and interest payments, as well as actual damages. Depending on how long it… Read More »
Categories: LAWPRO Errors and Omissions Coverage
The following warning was issued by Lawyers Mutual of North Carolina. We haven’t had any reports of this in Ontario yet, but lawyers should always be alert to phishing scams that try to trick them into opening an attachment or clicking a link that could instal malware. There is a new phishing scam targeting bar… Read More »
Categories: Fraud Prevention
The real estate lawyer’s job is more than just conveying title, and not every matter will be straightforward. Communication errors and inadequate investigation are the biggest causes of real estate claims at LAWPRO, respectively 41 per cent and 26 per cent of claims reported between 2001 and 2011. Busy, high-volume practices often lead to situations… Read More »
Categories: Real Estate
Peer-to-peer rental networking sites, such as Airbnb and VRBO, provide homeowners with the tools with which to rent out all or part of their properties on a short-term basis. Homeowners may wish to rent out their properties occasionally in order to supplement their income, or they may have purchased the property entirely for income purposes…. Read More »
Categories: Real Estate
I. AN OVERVIEW (by Suzana Popovic-Montag*) On July 9, 2015, several amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure¹ (the “Rules”) were filed with the registrar under the Courts of Justice Act². These amendments, which came into force as of January 1, 2016, include various changes to the practice of estates under Rules 74 and 75…. Read More »
Categories: Wills & EstatesLand Acknowledgement
The offices of LAWPRO are located on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishnabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and Wendat peoples. Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. LAWPRO respects and acknowledges the histories, languages, knowledge systems, and cultures of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit nations.
