Part 1 of a 6 Part Series

In this age of do it yourself, YouTube and Wikipedia people increasingly want to do their own legal work, but should they? I get asked all the time is it “legal” to do it myself. The answer is probably yes because most things do not specifically require a lawyer. Having said that, as the old saying goes, in this world, you get what you pay for.

Things are not getting any simpler in life. Things are getting more complicated. At least the law is getting more complicated. The government passes more and more legislation regulating conduct and the Income Tax Act gets more complicated every year.

Use the car as an analogy. Once upon a time it was pretty straight forward to fix something on a car, but now do you really want to spend $50,000 on something only to find out you fried some system by trying to fix it yourself? Do you really want to work and save your whole life and then draft you own will only to leave your family with problems because you thought you would save a few bucks and draft your own will?

The five things you technically can do without a lawyer but should never do without a lawyer:

1. Estate Law – Wills;
2. Business Law- Incorporation and Small Business Start-up;
3. Family Law – Divorce/common law separation;
4. Real Estate Law – Real Estate Contracts;
5. Employment Law – Review of Severance Package or Employment Contracts.

I would suggest that most people will not require a specialist to do any of the above. In other words, you will not have to hire a big firm lawyer who only does one of the above areas of the law. Most people can use a general practitioner and all general practitioners are under an ethical obligation to advise if something is out of their depth. For example, I am not going to do the wills of a billionaire family with its own foundation or a start-up company that is a subsidiary of an international oil company. Some people will require specialist for the above but most people can use a lawyer with a general practice, saving them money and, more importantly, devoting more attention to their needs that a specialist may be prepare to commit.

By Darryl Aarbo of Aarbo Fuldauer LLP

For more information, please contact the law office of Aarbo Fuldauer LLP at:

Address: 3rd Floor, 1131 Kensington Road NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 3P4
Phone: (403) 571-5120
Email: [email protected]

Darryl Aarbo
Barrister & Solicitor
www.aflawyers.ca

*The information contained in this blog is not legal advice. It should not be construed as legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. If you require legal assistance, please contact a lawyer*