Titleplus Legal Counsel Fee
At closing, buyers typically sign a statement disclosing the existence and payment of attorneys` fees to their attorneys. Known as attorney or review fees, the amounts are typically $150 for property purchases and $25 for condominiums. The new platform was developed based on feedback from lawyers and is designed to meet their need for fast and convenient title insurance without sacrificing comprehensive coverage. LAWPRO is owned by the Law Society of Ontario and is licensed to provide professional liability insurance in Ontario and title insurance across Canada. Through its malpractice insurance program, LAWPRO insures nearly 29,000 practising lawyers and their paralegals in Ontario and provides them with risk and practice management information under the practicePRO banner. LAWPRO`s TitlePLUS title insurance program is available to Canadian lawyers and notaries in Quebec to better meet their clients` needs for professional legal advice and superior protection for their real estate transactions. With perhaps 500,000 real estate transactions in Canada each year, the total amount of legal fees paid by title insurers to lawyers could be less than $50 million. Cumulatively, the amounts involved far exceed what FSCO has called “nominal referral or marketing incentives.” Tim Hyde, a lawyer and former insurance executive, recently told the Law Times: “Even if you think $150 off is a legitimate fee, which it isn`t. The (Law Society`s) rule requires that you inform your client that you have not received a fee. We scam (the public).
We pocket $150 that customers really don`t know about because it`s all hidden. “Despite this, the payment of these attorneys` fees is now industry-wide, exposing lawyers who accept fees without informed disclosure to the risk of breaking the rules and entering into a conflict of interest with their clients. For more than 20 years, some Ontario title insurance companies have paid lawyers fees for the legal work associated with underwriting title insurance policies for their clients. The new TitlePLUS will launch on May 17 at titleplus.ca and will soon be available on RealtiWeb. Keep an eye out for more upcoming announcements. TitlePLUS, owned by the Law Society of Ontario, has now joined Stewart Title, First Canadian Title and Chicago Title in paying these fees to the lawyers. Known as attorney or review fees, the amounts are typically $150 for property purchases and $25 for condominiums. The new TitlePLUS will launch on May 17 and is better than ever. This is a one-stop shop for the purchase of title insurance that busy lawyers expect. Within minutes, you can complete a simple online application and receive user-friendly title insurance that automatically includes legal advice. But if the lawyer is billed by the insurer, there is a $150 credit for legal services associated with ordering the policy. The new TitrePLUS is a one-stop process for lawyers and their employees to obtain title insurance coverage for clients.
In addition to the automatic legal coverage for which TitlePLUS is renowned, it offers: Designed for you, the new TitlePLUS offers: Here`s how it works: A typical title insurance policy for a $1 million purchase (not related to a condominium) and an institutional mortgage will be charged by the insurer to the buyer at $918, including the 8% provincial sales tax. In 2008, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) released a report calling these fees “nominal payments or marketing incentives,” but by not criticizing them, it appears to have given them the regulator`s blessing. The takeaway from all of this is that buyers should always clarify with their lawyers who receives the referral fee and what it is. “This is a complete overhaul of the TitlePLUS product and service that will put us at the forefront of title insurance coverage, issuance and technology,” said Dan Pinnington, President and CEO of LAWPRO. In an interview with Law Times, she said: “With referral fees of this nature, we have to either disclose them to the client or pass the savings on to them. The latter, in my opinion, is the cleanest and most transparent way. Tannis Waugh, a Toronto-based real estate lawyer, believes that whenever there is a referral fee, there is a potential conflict. While the Law Society prohibits lawyers from receiving fees, it also requires lawyers to disclose that they receive them. For me, the position is both confusing and contradictory. TitlePLUS, owned by the Law Society of Ontario, has now joined Stewart Title, First Canadian Title and Chicago Title in paying these fees to the lawyers.
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