Independent Legal Advice
What is independent legal advice?
The advice that is given to each party to an agreement from separate lawyers. It is essential to have separate lawyers to represent the parties even if both parties would prefer one lawyer. Once that advice is obtained, a certificate of independent legal advice given to the parties will confirm that the party understood the legal documents, the liabilities and the benefits attached to the agreement without any undue influence to agree to the legal documents.
Why is an independent legal advice certificate important?
When a party obtains an independent legal advice certificate, they cannot later claim that they did not understand the material or consequences of the documents that they were signing. This certificate will prove that that party entered into the agreement at their own free will, with full knowledge and understanding. When the court reviews an agreement, if they see a lack of independent legal advice, they can set aside that agreement. For these reasons, it is imperative to have independent legal advice before signing any agreement.
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