Areas of notarial practice
Notaries may serve the public in all sectors of legal activity except, as mentioned, litigation and advocacy, although their traditional activities are in areas where the law has required notarial deeds and instruments.
Conveyancing of immovables
In Quebec, hypothecs must be drafted by notaries, and the conveyancing of immovables and related legal services constitute, on average, 55% of total notarial activities in Quebec. The creation of divided co-ownership (condominiums), for instance, must be effected through notarial deeds en minute.
Wills and successions
The notarial will is the most popular of the three forms of testamentary documents in Quebec, since it does not require probate for validity. It comes into force immediately upon the death of the testator. It is not surprising, then, to find that notaries are very active in the drafting of wills, planning of estates, and settlement of successions. The renunciation of a succession ("estate" in common law), for whatever reason, must be notarial, as well as the transmission of immovable property to heirs or legatees, and proceedings relating to minors or incapable persons.
Taxation and estate planning
Nowadays, many notaries have master's degrees in tax law; a great many have specialized in the field of estate planning and have been instrumental in increasing the popularity of trust wills and testaments.
Commercial law
The establishment, sale, or purchase of a business, the constitution, amalgamation (merger) or reorganization of a company, commercial financing, and trademarks are the daily bread and butter of all notaries practising commercial law.
Alternative to the Judiciary : recently extended notarial service to non-litigius matters
The publica fides of the notary, his role as public officer was extended since 1998 by two laws amending the Civil Code to areas of legal service that were, up to then, of the exclusive competence of the judiciary.
In matters related to guardianship, curatorship and probate of wills and mandates (enduring power of attorney), the notary was granted a concurrent jurisdiction with the Court to conduct and conclude a non-challenged proceeding. The choice belongs to the petitionere and clearly the notarial way is becoming the most popular, not surprisingly for it does away with court appearance and waste of time.
In June of 2002, the lawmakers went further : they gave authority to notaries to celebrate and officialized marriages and civil unions; but more significant is the out-of-court, notarized official acknowledgement of civil union brake-ups. A common notarized declaration by mutual consent by the two members of the couple to put an end to their union is an alternative to a court jugement when no underaged child's or children's rights are at stake.
Other areas of practice
In Quebec, many notaries have developed expertise in various new legal sectors such as international private law, international adoption, maritime mortgage, intellectual property (copyright), telecommunications law, family and commercial mediation and arbitration, etc.
Clearly, notarial services cover a wide range of needs and can easily be adapted to new trends of activity in our ever-changing world.