Calgary Lawyer for Proof of Life Documents
Notary - Commission - Proof of Life - Independent Legal Advice - GAA Certificate
To schedule an appointment, contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or Chris@NeufeldLegal.com
A Proof of Life document (Certificate of Life) is a critical legal instrument used primarily to verify that a person is still alive. Proof of Life documents are frequently required by government agencies, pension funds, or insurance companies to ensure that benefit payments are being sent to a living recipient rather than a deceased estate. In our globalized world, they are particularly common for individuals living abroad who receive income from their home country. Without a valid and timely submission, essential financial support can be frozen or terminated, such that it needs to be properly dealt with - from completion (and authentication) to submission and processing [more on life certificate's application].
Although certain government-issued Proof of Life documents have been known to allow particular non-lawyers of considerable authority (i.e., consular officers, government officials, medical professionals) to authenticate and confirm that the recipient is living, the technical legal language of the document, especially where the original document is in a foreign language, can present potential interpretation issues, which can all too easily result in minor clerical errors that result in the document being rejected. Meanwhile, lawyers, by their training and experience, understand how to read and interpret documents that pose such challenges, especially where the technical issues may not be readily apparent.
The lawyer acts as an official witness (and preferred by most foreign institutions), verifying the identity of the recipient individual through valid government-issued identification. This process serves to prevent identity theft and fraudulent claims, providing the requesting institution with a high level of confidence. By reviewing the person’s physical presence and matching it against legal records, the lawyer bridges the gap between the individual and the distant institution. The lawyer's signature and seal serve as a formal guarantee that the person who stood before the lawyer was indeed the rightful claimant.
Beyond serving as the document's permissible witness, a lawyer plays an advisory role in navigating the specific requirements of international jurisdictions. The specifications of a Proof of Life document tend to benefit substantively from the involvement of a legal professional to ensure authentication is actually undertaken to the specifications of the requesting institution. Different countries often have unique forms, specific language requirements, or mandates for notarization and apostille services. These stringent technical and legal standards are not as clear as most people would believe, especially where they are not in the native language of the issuing country, such that interpreting what is actually required (and isn't), is essential to avoiding rejection by a foreign government or pension board. The lawyer, in turn, helps their client understand the fine print, such as expiration dates and the frequency with which the document must be renewed. Breaking down technical legal language, and explaining it for a non-lawyer to properly comprehend, can eliminate stress and anxiety, especially for more senior individuals who are heavily reliant upon these foreign payments; while allowing the completed Proof of Life document withstand scrutiny when being processed.
If you require completion of a Proof of Life / Letter of Existence / Certificate of Life, your anticipated cost would be as follows:
| $145.00 (plus applicable disbursements and taxes) | If located in North Calgary (west of Deerfoot Avenue) and Bearspaw |
| $195.00 (plus applicable disbursements and taxes) | If located in North Calgary (east of Deerfoot Avenue) or Southwest Calgary (north of 17th Avenue SW) |
(1) Completing the same proof of life for your spouse is undertaken at no additional charge, provide the total number of originals completed does not exceed four original documents. Additional charges if more than four original documents are being signed. Please confer with our office as to the cost of completing such added originals of your documents.
(2) If independent legal advice or special actions or circumstances are involved, we will look to provide you with the intended cost of our legal services in advance, such that you make an appropriate determination prior to our travelling out to meet with you and complete the agreed upon paperwork. The above charges are very clearly limited to the confirming recipient's status and signing off on the document.
To schedule an appointment, please contact our law firm to attain our current availability for an evening / weekend session to complete a Proof of Life document, by emailing our law firm in strict confidence at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com with your contact information (including home address), preferred times and, if possible, PDFs of the documents to be completed, such that we might coordinate the actual meeting time and confirm our costs..
IMPORTANT NOTE: This website is designed for general informational purposes. The site is not designed to answer specific questions about your individual situation or entitlement. Do not rely upon the information provided on this website as legal advice in respect of your individual situation nor use it as substitute for individual legal advice. If you want specific legal advice, you need to engage a lawyer under established legal engagement procedures that have been specifically agreed to by that lawyer.
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