Independent Solicitor Certificates
Financial institutions may require borrowers or guarantors to seek independent legal advice.
Appointments with Ryder Lawyers for Independent Solicitor Certificates take approximately one hour.
During this meeting, we verify your identity, review the documents you are being asked to sign, provide you with impartial advice on the obligations you are agreeing to, answer questions, witness you signing documents and provide you with an Independent Solicitor Certificate.
As an experienced property and commercial solicitor, Carolyn Ryder is able to provide you with trusted advice on whether signing a guarantee is in your best interests.
We are required to meet with you alone (without the presence of the party you are guaranteeing a loan for) to ensure you understand the guarantee and to verify you are not being pressured to sign by a family member or friend.
If you are under financial pressure, we can refer you to support services that can assist you.
What Else Should I know?
A guarantee may require you to grant a first or second mortgage over your home or other property as security.
Guarantees can affect your ability to sell your property in the future, and you may have to deal with the bank or financial institution holding your guarantee (as well as your own bank) to arrange settlement of your sale.
A condition of releasing the guarantee mortgage could be that money from the sale of your home or property is paid by you to the Financial Institution in exchange for them releasing your Guarantee.
What are Independent Solicitor Certificates?
Independent Solicitor Certificates are also commonly referred to as:
- Legal Advice Certificate
- Guarantor Legal Advice Certificate
- Independent Solicitor Advice
We only use the Independent Solicitor Certificate which is approved by the Queensland Law Society.
What does an independent legal advice certificate cost?
For non-urgent certificates (bookings made more than 5 business days in advance), our professional fee starts at $1,320 (inclusive of GST) for legal advice and an independent solicitor’s certificate to advise a loan guarantor. Please contact us for an estimate for an urgent certificate fee estimate, or for certificates required for more than one person or entity. If the loan or financial arrangements are particularly complex or involve multiple parties, we may need to provide you with a quote after receiving the documents and before we give the advice. Get in touch with us today.
Do you have a legal matter? Book in for a 15 minute phone call
Meet with our team on a quick and friendly call. Let’s see if we can work together,
