What are CLC Legal Forms?
CLC legal forms are a collection of legal documents, ranging from common contracts to non-standard instruments, that are approved for use by the CLC, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. These forms provide legal safety and protection to homeowners buying or selling property by streamlining the home buying and selling law process. CLC legal forms are more cost-effective and easier to understand compared to solicitor-drawn contracts. All forms must be submitted to your CLC solicitor to be used in any work done on behalf of you, the homeowner.
There are around 60 CLC legal forms in total you should be aware of. They come in three categories: those that convey a fee, those that do not convey a fee (no fee includes the document fee from the CLC when registering the form) and those where a fee is not applicable .
Some examples of the kinds of contracts and certificates that fall under these three categories are: applications; contracts; warranties; consents; assignments; guarantees; releases; certificates (of title, identity, authentic copies and more); declarations; indemnities and warranties for a range of transactions including sale of land, option for a lease, sale of shares, easements, mortgages, transfer of equity, lease of land, next of kin, and sale of goods under a credit-sale agreement.
Other examples of CLC legal forms include safety certificates, transfer of recognition as a person of sufficient competence, Statutory Charges (i.e. discharging of land charges), and landlord insurance certificates.
Please note that some CLC legal forms can only be used by a licensed conveyancer or during the non-advised sales process of the ‘Going Green’ process.
How to Obtain CLC Legal Forms
CLC legal forms are generally quite accessible, and can be obtained from several sources. These forms, many of which are complicated, can sometimes be difficult for individuals to find and to complete. The following are potential sources for obtaining CLC legal forms:
MyLawCLE.com
One potential source for obtaining a wide variety of CLC legal forms is MyLawCLE.com, an online continuing legal education platform. Specifically, MyLawCLE.com offers a subscription service that enables subscribers to view and download, free of charge, a wide variety of CLC legal forms. These forms can be downloaded and printed on demand by subscribers to MyLawCLE.com’s subscription service.
Legal Aid Organizations
Another source for obtaining CLC legal forms may be an online tool known as the Legal Services Corporation’s Pro Bono Opportunity Guide. This online tool contains a section that lists websites affiliated with various Legal Aid organizations. While these legal aid websites may not contain all CLC legal forms, they may contain a variety of forms specific to each state.
Lawyers and Paralegals
Clients who are unfamiliar with CLC legal forms may also be able to obtain pre-populated CLC legal forms from lawyers and paralegals capable of or experienced in helping clients to obtain those forms and filling them out. Further, to the extent that laypersons fill out CLC legal forms on the Internet and print them, but do not provide copies of the forms to their attorneys prior to submitting them, the attorneys will likely need those forms to be re-created and re-printed. For those reasons, it may be that lawyers and paralegals, whether engaged by or working for pro se litigants, are a potential source for obtaining CLC legal forms.
Advantages of CLC Legal Forms
As technology continues to advance and transform the way we operate in the legal industry, it becomes all the more important that we are able to adapt to these changes and embrace new and innovative methods which will ultimately grant greater ease and convenience for clients. With this in mind I will outline a few key benefits to explaining why the CLC forms are an attractive and useful venture for legal practitioners when researching both free forms, and lawful and accessible legal documentation.
A key benefit to using CLC forms is the fact that they are freely available to the public as a useful tool with a specific purpose focusing primarily on providing guidance to those who may be handling the form drafting process themselves.
They offer a wide range of specific forms and programs which are readily available and allow for the user to choose from a variety of different options to best suit their individual needs.
Unlike other resources which require the user to purchase or subscribe to an ongoing membership, the CLC forms are easily accessible online at no charge to the user and often provide customizable options and step-by-step instructions on how to best complete the document.
When considering which legal documentation to rely upon, the forms provided by the CLC are well organized, and designed to be used by a variety of users, regardless of their level of expertise in handling estate planning, family law, or other relevant legal matters.
There are many reasons why members of the legal community are encouraged to take advantage of using the CLC ‘s legal forms in the most efficient manner possible. In addition to being freely available, the site is user friendly and simple to navigate so that you are able to locate the information that you are searching for in the most time efficient method as possible. In a world where every second counts, it is in the best interest of all legal practitioners to streamline the process by which we process legal information and provide it to the public so that representatives of the law can be as accessible and organized as possible to our clients.
How to Fill Out CLC Legal Forms
All CLC legal forms follow a similar process for their completion. While the information needed may differ depending on your specific circumstance, the steps to implementing the form remain largely the same and generally involve the following:
- Read the Instructions.
- Fill in Basic Information about Yourself and the Other Parties.
- Indicate the Areas Where You Are Requesting Relief/Suing, i.e., the facts and legal issues for which you are seeking a remedy.
- Fill Out Any Additional Information Required to Fully Describe Your Circumstance.
- File Any Required Supporting Documentation, i.e., affidavits, certificate of service, notice, instructions, etc.
With most forms, you will have to read through a set of instructions that explains how and when to file the document, whether an affidavit is needed, if you need to contact the court for a hearing, whether other parties need to be notified, and whether service may be accomplished via the mail.
You will also need to fill out your personal information as well as the personal information of the other parties involved in your case. Typically, this includes names, date of birth, social security numbers, addresses, and the type of action you are pursuing (as described in the point above).
Most forms require that you fill out some or all of the information to describe your particular situation. Be sure to provide all relevant information so that the court clerk will not be delayed or refuse your request.
Some forms require you to file an affidavit. Although most people consider an affidavit to be a simple document, it is a sworn statement that becomes a part of the court record. Once you have signed an affidavit, it becomes admissible in court should a hearing on your case take place. It is important to make sure that the information you provide in an affidavit is accurate and complete.
Many forms (i.e., for divorce, name changes) require a certificate of service (usually at the back of the form or as a separate document) to indicate that you have provided a copy of the completed form to the other parties. This is important as these forms are not valid until the proper notice of service has been made to the other parties.
Common Errors to Avoid When Using CLC Legal Forms
One of the most common issues that people experience when using CLC legal forms relates to how they are completed. We receive calls from customers frequently who aren’t sure if certain information should be filled out in certain sections or fields, and want to know what happens if something is missing. Here are some tips to help you address your concerns:
- If you’ve downloaded or purchased hard copies of forms, you can just ignore any conversion prompts and use the original format – there’s nothing wrong with this! While CLC forms are available in standard MS Word and PDF formats, you will sometimes be prompted to convert or open in a different format. Our forms have been drafted, vetted, and tried in both MS Word and PDF formats, and either one is acceptable.
- Don’t enter data on one page and expect it to carry over on others – because we create our forms using various software, you may sometimes see this problem. Rather than transferring information from one page to another, we prefer that the information is simply typed into the designated field(s) on each page.
- The property or subject matter of the agreement should be consistent throughout because it is often tied to payment – many agreements include standard wording that refers to "the property" or "the subject matter described herein" (meaning on that page and the next). Understandably, it can sometimes be difficult to remember the specific wording that you’ve used previously, and so you may find yourself looking for it elsewhere in the document. This is not necessary. The only truly important thing is consistency between the description of the property and the payments that are listed — this is what has been agreed to between the parties, and typically , a mistake involving payments can have more impact than a mistake involving language used to describe the property. Conversely, it’s important to remember to take care when you’re deleting or copying and pasting the subject matter of an agreement from site to site or form to form. You don’t want to copy the wrong information accidently and confuse it with other property!
- Some particular sections of some forms are optional, but it’s important to know that deletion of an optional section is not permitted until both parties have signed a Waiver of Deliver of that section – you will often see this under "Supplementary Provisions", "Miscellaneous", or similar headers. If an optional section is deleted from the document, it should always be replaced with a Waiver of Deliver of that section that is signed by both parties. This applies in particular to "Alternative Dispute Resolution", "Lands Included", "Future Lands", and others written in small print at the bottom of the last page of a form.
- Avoid international telephone numbers – many forms still contain fields for international telephone numbers, but in practice, Canadian and US residents will typically not have international telephone numbers. It is sufficient to reformat any international telephone numbers into the Canadian format (pour les Canadiens, l’indicatif régional est déjà au bon endroit).
- Check your internet connection if documents are provided with hyperlinks – depending on your internet provider, you may not be able to connect to websites such as Alberta Registries which provide links to forms, maps or other information. If this is the case, try another browser or connection. for example, if you are using Chrome, try Internet Explorer, and vice versa.
Legal Forms versus Personalized Legal Documents
When it comes to legal documents used by Churches, there are two basic types: CLC Forms and Custom Forms. Custom forms are legal documents drafted by a lawyer specific to your situation. It does not necessarily mean that you want 100% customized forms from an attorney. You may take a "CLC" form and tailor it to your situation.
CLC forms are standardized legal forms that have been reviewed for legal sufficiency and are effective in most situations. The benefits of CLC forms are the time and cost savings.
Generally speaking, custom forms are used when you have a unique situation or special circumstances that need to be addressed. Typically, we recommend using a CLC form whenever possible because they are accurate and you will save time and money. However, there are some situations where customized forms may be preferred. For example, if your Church has been in existence for a while, you may need custom documents or forms that will tailor your specific needs. For example, churches with teacher-staff contracts may prefer custom documents that address the unique situations playing out in virtually every church.
I strongly recommend that you have your attorney draft custom documents for the staffing contracts because these contracts are more complicated than any other contract used in a church. Other examples might be when the Church has an attorney on staff that has to draft forms consistent with your organization’s structure. Another reason for custom documents might be that some forms do not have great general applicability, e.g., youth forms, teacher contracts.
Legal Implications and Limitations
Navigating through transactional real estate can be a cumbersome process to even some of the most seasoned attorneys. CLC forms are legal forms and as such have all of the caveats that are involved in a legal form. The only way to understand all of the nuances and potential landmines with the forms is to read them carefully followed by speaking to an attorney about them. It is important to understand what is in the forms and what is not. The seller may think that they included special language to remove a contingency only to find out later that the language was not properly incorporated into the contract.
That being said, it is an attorney’s job to strike a balance between making sure that their clients understand the legal reasoning behind the actions taken but to not overwhelm their clients with so much information that they become confused and lose the thread of the conversation. Therefore, this is our attempt at being as instructive as possible with regard to the legal considerations with regard to CLC legal forms.
In addition to the first two sections, there are a few more legal principles and caveats that should be at least mentioned here. The first is one contained in Civil Code section 1103.1. This section requires that language be incorporated into the contract to notify the parties that they are waiving the right to a jury trial. While this does not apply to listings, for conditional offers of sale and purchase, this language must be inserted into the contract or there is the potential that a court will hold that the contract is not enforceable. While outside of the scope of this article , there is a case that applies Civ. Code section 1103.1 that is not a sale. The specific requirements of this section are incorporated into the forms by CLC in any listing agreement or CBA.
Another legal consideration to review is that some circumstances create a fiduciary relationship between the parties and agents involved. For example, while the buyer and seller in a sale have a contractual relationship, they also owe each other fiduciary obligations because a sale contract is a contract to do another thing (the purchase and sale of an asset (the property)). Because of this fiduciary relationship, the parties require additional obligation to the buyer and seller in the transaction. It is these additional obligations that a potential cause of liability that leads to so many broker claims and legal malpractice claims.
Each side also has a fiduciary relationship with their agent and those obligations are owed from the agent to the party. Additionally, the parties have rights and obligations with regard to the fiduciary, including a duty to disclose all information, including legal information that the fiduciary possesses. In addition to the duties that parties owe one another in a sale, they also have statutory obligations (see, for example, Civil Code sections 1090 et seq. (concerning disclosures about death on the property), 1102 et seq. (requiring disclosures of special conditions/information about the property), 2079 et seq. (specifying the obligations and duties of licensees to residential owners of real property) and 2079.13 (specifying the obligations and duties of licensees to residential buyers of real property).