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Legal Aid - NEW !
If you need legal help Legal Aid Ontario may be able to help you pay for a lawyer. To apply for legal aid you must do a financial eligibility test to see if you qualify.Read More
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If you need legal help Legal Aid Ontario may be able to help you pay for a lawyer. To apply for legal aid you must do a financial eligibility test to see if you qualify. Who is tested? The Legal Aid staff will ask you questions to find out how much money you have and to decide if you have enough money to pay for your own lawyer. Legal Aid must do a financial test for you, your spouse, common-law partner or same-sex partner, any of your dependant children. Legal Aid Ontario sets the financial guidelines. How do you decide if I'm eligible? The financial test has two parts: the asset test and the income test. The Legal Aid staff first determines if you have enough money/assets available to pay your lawyer without Legal Aid's help. Then, we look at your monthly income and expenses to determine if you have any money left over that could be used to pay for your legal fees. What is the asset test? Legal Aid looks at all your assets, such as cash, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and RRSPs to see if you can pay for all your legal fees. We also include anything that you can sell or easily convert into cash. Depending on your situation, you may be expected to use some of your assets to help pay for legal fees. We also look at other assets, such as houses and property. Normally if you own a house or property, you are expected to borrow against it to pay for legal fees. If you cannot borrow against it, we will ask you to agree to sign a lien against the property. You must provide proof of your assets. What is the income test? Legal Aid will ask you to give information about all of your sources of income, for your dependant children, your spouse, common-law spouse or same-sex partner. Income includes worker's compensation, employment income, employment insurance, pensions, social assistance, commissions, self-employed earnings, child tax benefits, rental income, etc. To determine your net income, we deduct any payroll deductions, day care costs and child support payments from your gross income. If you are on social assistance, you are usually eligible for legal aid, depending on your available assets. You may be eligible for legal aid without a detailed test if your net income is: Financial Eligibility table
If your income is more than these amounts, you need to complete a more detailed test. You may qualify for free legal aid, you may be asked to help pay for some of your legal fees, or you may be refused legal aid. You must prove your sources of income to Legal Aid through pay slips, social assistance, pension income, EI or WSIB statements, and financial statements if you are self-employed. What expenses are considered? Legal Aid allows a set amount of money for your monthly expenses based on the size of your family and type of shelter you have. We include things like rent or mortgage, food, clothing, transportation, telephone, and personal expenses. We do not include rent or mortgage payments or other expenses that are over our set allowances. We may consider other expenses, if it's needed for health or well-being. You may have to show proof of your expenses, such as rent receipts, utility bills and debt payments. What type of decisions can be made? After the financial test is done, Legal Aid can calculate how much money you have available to pay for a lawyer. Based on our policies, you may receive free legal aid, you may have to repay all or some of the legal fees, or you may be refused legal aid. If you have income and/or assets left over equal to the cost of hiring a private lawyer, your application for legal aid will be refused. What if I disagree with the decision? If Legal Aid asks you to contribute some money to your legal fees and you don't feel you can afford to, or if you are refused legal aid, you can appeal the decision to the Area Committee. You can also reapply if there is a change in your financial circumstances. Legal Aid may be able to provide coverage in family matters to:
Community legal clinics provide services to address the unique legal needs of low-income people and communities. The local board tries to match its services to meet the priority needs of the community it serves. Although no two clinics are exactly alike, the types of issues they may provide help with include:
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Renting
A landlord can raise rent once every 12 months for as long as the tenant remains in the unit.
A landlord must give at least 90 days notice in writing of any rent increase, or the tenant does not have to pay the increase, but is still responsible for the monthly rent.
A landlord cannot refuse the idea of subletting, but can refuse to allow you to sublet to a specific person if they have a good reason.
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Real Estate
Real Estate Agreement - Did you know it is the lawyer’s responsibility to make sure you are getting what you are paying for?Mortgage - Banks rely on lawyers to guarantee that the security for the loan to you is perfectly legal in every respect.
Did you know builders of new homes contain a lot options that you will not see in a resale offer. You usually have less room to negotiate these options. We can help you decide.
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Family
Child Support – Will I pay or receive child support? How much? For how long?
Child Custody & Access – Will I get child custody? If I do not, how often will I see my children?
Spousal Support – Will I pay or receive spousal support? How much? How long?
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Wills
Who will act as your Estate's Executor and Alternate Executor? Are there any important items or heirlooms you wish to make special provision for?
Do you have any assets that will require specific planning or management?
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WSIB
If a worker dies from a workplace disease or accident, his or her spouse may be entitled to a survivor’s lump sum payment and a lifetime pension.Workers or their families can make a compensation claim for consider after they have left the company, retired from the company or passed on – even if their employer has changed or shut down operations.
Accommodating workers promptly after an injury reduces overall costs dramatically
Claims
A judgment from the Small Claims Court is enforceable for 15 years.
If a defendant does not file a defence to a claim after being served, the defendant may be noted in default
Upon receipt of a claim a defendant who disagrees with it should file a defence with the court
The monetary limit of the Ontario Small Claims Court is presently $10,000 (effective January 1, 2010 the monetary limit will become $25,000).
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Immigration
Canada’s permanent residents require demonstrating their presence in Canada for a total of three years, along with other criteria, to become a citizen.Three departments have been historically responsible for Immigration Policy in Canada: the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, the Department of Manpower and Immigration and the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission.
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Notary
You do not need to be present for the notary public to make a certified copy, however when making certified copies of an original document, the Notary Public only needs to see the original of the document to be certified.
A Notary Public can witness an agreement, so that if there is ever a dispute about the signing of an agreement, a notary public's stamp and signature can be used as evidence of the signing of the agreement.
DO NOT SIGN your document until you are in front of a notary public or commissioner of oaths.
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