In Canada, the law requires repayment of any money loaned between partners during the relationship. If a breakup occurs, the person who owes money has an obligation to pay their former partner back.

As a contractor, you might be unaware that having a paralegal represent you can save you time and money when you’re dealing with clients who have chosen to be difficult by holding out on your rightfully earned payment.

But what does a paralegal do and how can they help your business? In this article, we'll discuss the role of the paralegal and explain how they can help your business run more smoothly. 

It is my pleasure to introduce the incredible team at De Palma & Associates Legal Services.

Are you a tradesperson who has completed the job, but now you are struggling to recover the funds on an unpaid invoice? De Palma & Associates can help!

In this month’s guest blog, a landlord and recent client relates her experience and why it is so beneficial to use the services of a paralegal when dealing with the Landlord and Tenant Board

2020 has certainly been an interesting year to be a paralegal. With the ongoing pandemic, the way we work has drastically changed.

This holiday season, De Palma & Associates wants to do something special to help out our local community.

Bill 184, otherwise known as Ontario’s “Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act”, was passed by the provincial government into law in July of 2020. Bill 184 is an act to amend the Building Code Act, 1992, the Housing Services Act, 2011 and the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 and to enact the Ontario Mortgage and Housing Corporation Repeal Act, 2020.

Did you know that mediation doesn’t have to be used just for legal issues involving the courts?

Premarital discussions can be difficult to have with your partner because who plans for an end to a marriage before it hasn’t even begun? However, sometimes it is prudent for both parties to have these discussions ahead of marriage.

As a paralegal, I have represented parties in numerous forms of mediation and have seen how successful it can be if both parties come to mediation with an open mind and intention to resolve the issue. For this reason, among others, I chose mediation as an area to learn and offer to our clients. I see this as an opportunity for myself and our clients due to the current court closure and inevitable backlog it will cause. Mediation can be used as an alternative to the court process or as a way to potentially resolve a dispute while waiting for a court appearance to be scheduled/rescheduled because of the COVID-19 shutdown.

Every successful team relies on a number of players all pulling one another in the same direction to achieve the same goal. Having successful rental properties is no different. Starting with the right team will make the process of owning rental properties easier to mana

With the current pandemic, selling or renting a property can be difficult. Selling one that is currently occupied by a tenant is even more challenging. The pandemic has created a shift in how landlords and realtors are able to show homes that are currently listed for sale. Instead of potential buyers getting an in-person walkthrough and inspection, realtors are using photos and creating virtual tours of the property to lure potential clients.   One question that has come up several times during this pandemic is - can a landlord or the landlord’s agent take pictures of a rental property that is currently…

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on so many aspects of our lives, including many contracts that were to be executed during this time. Orders implemented by the Province of Ontario prohibiting gatherings of more than five people have impacted the ability to hold events that may have been scheduled quite some time ago. Trade shows, home and craft shows, conferences, fundraising events, hall rentals, wedding vendors and so much more are all impacted at this time. 

  Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of people that require legal services. With this, there is a need for more affordable legal service providers. This means more and more people are looking towards paralegals to assist them with their legal needs.  Paralegals are licensed legal professionals that are able to provide legal representation to the Ontario public. Similar to a lawyer, a paralegal is licensed with the Law Society of Ontario and abides by the standard of learning, professional competence, and professional conduct guidelines as set out by the Law Society of Ontario.  One of…

Time is money and, when mistakes get added into the equation, things can add up and definitely get costly! There is no exception when it comes to landlord and tenant issues. Dealing with tenants can be stressful at times, especially once legal matters are involved. 

  In Ontario, the Small Claims Court is a branch of the Superior Court of Justice. They handle any action for the payment of money or the recovery of possession of personal property where the amount claimed does not exceed $35,000. This amount excludes interest and any other costs such as court fees. Some examples of Small Claims Court cases are disputes such as unpaid invoices, loans that haven’t been repaid, and defects in a home after purchase. The amount that can be claimed was recently increased from $25,000 to $35,000 on January 1, 2020. What this means is that some cases…