KBL Law LLP

03/08/2024

We made the Best in Edmonton list for Personal Injury Law again!

Looking for a knowledgeable and professional personal injury lawyer in Edmonton? Check out our list to see our top picks and why we chose them!

01/16/2024

Happy Monday folks! Hope you are making the most of the cold. We don't see too many phone booths anymore, but phone calls and contact are still very important.

One of, if not the number one complaints to the Law Society from clients about lawyers is lack of communication.

Part of my mission and approach to practicing law is to be as accessible as possible. This means that clients, realtors, mortgage brokers, etc, can reach me at virtually all hours, as long as I'm awake and not with another client.

I've talked to clients while on vacation, grocery shopping, restaurants, during medical appointments, and more.

If you send me a Facebook message on my page or ask me for information on a blog that I post, check your inbox as you'll likely get an immediate response. I've had lots of people ask for information regarding Wills, but then never actually check their messages.

I might not ever go into a phone booth anymore nowadays, but you can sure as heck expect to get a response from me faster than a speeding bullet ;)

Cheers!

12/15/2023

Getting into a car accident is never a fun experience whether you are responsible for causing the accident or you are the one not at fault.

If you are not at fault and have a damaged vehicle and/or have suffered physical injuries, you should not be discussing your injuries with the other individual's insurance company. They are not there to assist you. Contact your own insurance company for the vehicle repair and for treatment of your injuries and a lawyer to assist with recovery for your personal injuries. Remember you have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit against the other party or you will lose any rights you have.

If you are at fault in the accident, you hopefully have proper insurance in place which will deal with any claims by the other party for vehicle repair and personal injury compensation. I've had phone calls where people want to know if they can settle directly with the person they hit.

My recommendation is to allow your insurance to handle this, despite any increase in premium. However, if you do want to strike a deal with this person, then lawyers must be involved for each of you and a proper waiver and release drafted and signed to prevent this person from suing you down the road.

Stay safe out there, and if you have any questions feel free to contact us at www.kbllaw.com

12/15/2023

Folks, when buying or selling a home, you NEED to pay attention to permits in a basement. As a seller, you promise in the contract that you are not aware of any lack of permits in the home, and trying to get permits after the fact is not only usually double the application fee, but things may need to be removed/walls demolished/upgrades made to successfully attain the permits retroactively for a house sale, if you can't get the buyer to accept the basement as is.

As a buyer, you want the permits all in place for resale, peace of mind, safety, insurance purposes, and your bank may care about the lack of permits as well. You must disclose this this to your insurance and bank to make sure they are aware to avoid issues down the road if something went wrong.

If you like the house enough and have disclosed everything and are willing to take the risks of the City coming around asking for things to be demolished/getting fines, safety hazards and having to upgrade for resale, then so be it, but always inform yourself as to these risks - this is part of my role and of me redefining the real estate law experience :)

Any questions, let me know!

08/29/2023

I love helping make my senior clients' lives easier.

08/29/2023

Under the contract you sign as a seller, you are on the hook for any special assessments that are levied prior to possession, regardless of the safe they were due. This means that you must pay special attention to the meeting minutes and happenings of the condo board and management company when you decide to list your property. Even if the amount isn't until after possession, if a special resolution is passed by the condo board to levy a special assessment for whatever reason, you would be on the hook. Plan ahead and make the appropriate inquiries so you aren't stuck with a last minute costly expense.

08/22/2023

What happens if I am in a car accident and the other driver has no insurance or I am in a "hit and run"?

In the past few years we have had an increasing number of clients injured in accidents where the other driver has no insurance or just takes off after the accident.

After any accident, at all possible, you should collect information from the other driver - including licence plate and driver's licence info. Get a vin number ( drivers side of windshield ) if you are suspicious. Get proof of insurance (if they have it!). Take lots of photos - drivers - damage - intersection - documents. Then head off to the local police station (or collision report centre in Edmonton).

If the other driver will not provide information - collect whatever you are able, which might not be much. Come see a lawyer as soon as you are able. We can report the claim to the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund for Alberta - which pays claims on hit and run or uninsured vehicles. There are limits to the recovery we can seek, but the system works for most claims. As for the uninsured driver? If they can be identified, the Fund will chase them and eventually make them pay! If they don't - no driver's licence renewals!

08/22/2023

Evening folks.

Under the contract you sign as a buyer, you are obligated to complete the deal and buy the home as long as the seller has complied with their obligations/provided the requisite documents.

Should you not be able to close on time, the contract requires you to pay penalty interest at the ATB prime rate plus 3 percent on the outstanding monies owed to the Seller each day. If the seller refuses to wait any longer, they have the right to retain the deposit you have already paid.

Worst case scenario, they can sue you for the price of the property. They have the obligation to continue to market the property, but can claim any difference in cost if they sell for less than what you were to pay and potential other remedies as well.

It's rare that a deal doesn't close, but when that happens, be prepared for the consequences.

08/18/2023

Hey folks.

When buying a home, the buyer is responsible to pay for the land titles registration costs to put the home into your name and the mortgage onto the title.

The amount used for the mortgage is typically the amount you are borrowing including the cmhc fee if applicable. However, some lenders will have us register the mortgage at a different amount which is often the price of the home or sometimes even higher. This is because the type of mortgage product you have either has a line of credit portion and/or gives you approval for additional monies down the road and registering the mortgage at this higher amount, often with a high interest rate like prime plus 10 percent saves you the trouble and them the hassle of having to sign another mortgage. You essentially would negotiate with them the rate for additional monies down the road of applicable.

Keep this in mind as the higher the mortgage amount, the larger the land titles registration costs you must pay.

08/03/2023

Congratulations to the Elgies on their purchase of OK Tire on 128 Ave! It has been a pleasure working for you on this deal!

08/03/2023

Sometimes you have to go the extra km or fifty to make things happen, and I'm happy to do that to get 'er done.

To make sure a client's sale was completed despite courier mixups resulting in documents being essentially lost by them, I met the clients for a second time to re-sign the documents and then drove to the buyer's downtown law firm right afterwards to get them delivered to save the courier fee and expedite the process.

Since I was downtown anyways and it was a scorcher, I grabbed this tasty bubble tea that hit the spot on this scorching day. Already paid for parking for 30 minutes so why not support a local business :)

07/07/2023

https://www.bestinedmonton.com/best-personal-injury-lawyers-edmonton/ Made the list for 2023!

KBL Law is a full-service Law Firms providing Legal Services for Personal Injury, Real Estate, Corporate and Business, Will and Estate, Divorce and Family Law.