Jim is the most senior member of the team and heads up our Carson IP division, which focuses exclusively on intellectual property matters. While Jim has the distinction of being Ryan's father, he also acts as a patriarchal figure to the rest of the Carson Law family by providing guidance, insight, and opinions that only come with 40 years of legal experience.
Get to know Jim a bit better in this in-depth interview.
With social media integrated into our lives and workplace and the line between the two blurred, employers are looking to safeguard their company with morality clauses for new hires.
One of our law students, Sarah Nadon, goes over the importance of morality clauses, what to look out for and what to include.
The Land Transfer Tax is charged by the provincial government’s Ministry of Finance whenever a person buys or acquires an interest in a piece of land in Ontario, except in a few special circumstances. The tax applies to every method of conveying land ownership, whether the land is purchased, gifted, or obtained through other means.
With the current market resulting in numerous bids on a property, and even more offers being pulled after the Agreement of Purchase and Sale has been signed, falling under the unique aspect of Canadian contract law, the seller of a property is entitled to keep the deposit of an offer when the buyer backs out without having to prove any loss.
At Carson Law, we receive questions as to why different assistants and clerks work on your Real Estate File. We want to ensure everything to do with your transaction gets taken care of accurately and efficiently; that is why we use a team-based approach. Please read the below article which explains in detail the life cycle of your real estate file at Carson Law.
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To begin, you or your real estate broker has sent us over an Agreement of Purchase and Sale(APS) for a property that you’re selling or buying. First things first, we check if the APS is firm—meaning, have all of the conditions been fulfilled. If not, we save the APS as a “pending” file, and check in with you in a few weeks to see if it’s firmed up. Once we have a firm deal, we put your file in queue to open.
When we open your file, we are beginning a record-keeping process that ensures all of your documents are saved and that allows us to keep track of all contracts, funds, notices, reports, and other important documents. One of our assistants carries out this process, and they will email you to make sure that we have all of the basics from you—ID, a retainer agreement, contact information and so on.
Then, your file goes to our Real Estate Law Clerks, and to our Conveyancer. The real estate clerks will work with you to ensure that we get your mortgage information, tax documents, etc. They will also book your final signing appointment for a time that is about 1-4 days in advance of the closing date of your transaction. Meanwhile, the conveyancer is working behind the scenes to ensure that everything makes sense from the perspective of title to the property.
Once we have compiled all of the information we need, the documents are reviewed with one of our lawyers in advance of your signing appointment. This allows the lawyer to flag anything that needs to be changed, fixed, or discussed before closing.
While all of this is happening, our Real Estate Manager and one of our Real Estate Clerks, are coordinating with the law office representing the other party in your transaction. We work closely with other law offices to make sure signed documents, funds, and keys end up in the right office at the right time.
Now, it’s time for your final signing appointment. Our Receptionist and Brand Ambassador will make sure that your file is couriered out to you prior to your appointment if scheduled via Zoom Video Conferencing or ready to go into the signing office should you need to come into our office for your appointment.
During your appointment, you’ll have a chance to discuss any questions that you have with your lawyer, and you will also sign all of the documents that we need from you. If your documents were couriered, we will arrange to have our service pick them up from you either the same day or next.
Finally, we tie up all the loose ends to close the file. Our Bookkeeper ensures that all the banking is complete, your lawyer signs off on the legal documents, and the transaction is complete.
Last, but not least, once your sale or purchase has closed, we prepare our final report to send out to you so that you have a copy of all of the documents that you will need for your records. At this point, we also make sure that all of our own records are up to date—just in case anything comes up in the future.
Purchasing property is the biggest, most important purchase in most individual’s lives, and with the help of a reputable mortgage broker, realtor and lawyer, the process can be made substantially less stressful. We have put together some steps to follow and legally related items to consider when looking for your first home.
A cohabitation agreement is an agreement signed by two unmarried individuals who are living together or intend to live together in the future. When a couple decides to live together, a cohabitation agreement can clearly set out the rights and obligations of each party, either in the event of a breakdown of the relationship or upon the passing of one of the partners.
Has the time come for your parent to move into a smaller home? Letting go and downsizing during retirement can free seniors from financial responsibilities and maintenance costs. It’s also a process that can cause added stress for an aging parent and even family caregivers without careful planning, particularly during the era of COVID-19. With that in mind, here are some tips from Carson Law to help you put a downsizing plan together for your loved one.
Purchasing a new build home is a process that differs from traditional home buying in many ways. When purchasing a traditional, preexisting home, the Agreement of Purchase and Sale will normally provide that taxes (GST/HST), are included in the purchase price. However, this is not the case when purchasing a newly built home. These homes will have taxes applied to the purchase price, adding thousands of dollars to the overall cost of the transaction.
As the summer of 2021 quickly approaches many Ontarians revisit considerations of investing in recreational and cottage properties. Many individuals have been deterred in the past from diving into this market due to concerns surrounding winterization, and various other maintenance demands involved in cottage property ownership. Prospective buyers who may have found themselves in this camp in the past may find attractive the increasing trend in this area of real estate, a move towards condominium and time share approaches to cottage country living. These alternative approaches present their own unique set of benefits.