What must Canadians do differently?

Canadians love Hawaii and we love them too! Many of our Canadian clients are from British Columbia or Alberta and they reach out when they are planning their estates. So we help them transfer their Hawaii property either (a) into a newly-formed trust, (b) to their children, or (c) proactively with a transfer on death deed.

While Canadians do a lot things well, one thing that frustrates me is that the country has not signed onto the Hague Convention of 1961. My personal mission in life is to make things as efficient as I can. By not signing onto this Convention, Canada has made the process of recording a Hawaii deed for Canadians less efficient. Hawaii law requires that notarizations performed in countries which are not parties to the 1961 Hague Convention to be authenticated.

So once we email the new deed for signature, Canadians must have it notarized and then authenticated. This can be accomplished in several ways. Sometimes, the "easiest" options is to drive across the border and have an American notary public witness the signature. If that isn't practicable, then you can use one of the follow methods:

iDocsCanada: https://www.idocscanada.ca

Global Affairs Canada: https://www.international.gc.ca/

U.S. Consulate or U.S. Embassy: https://ca.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/