Free legal clinics and duty counsel appointments are short. Turning up with the documents turns a vague conversation into a specific one, and specific is where the value is.
The essentials
- Anything you have been served with — demand letter, Statement of Claim, any orders. Bring the envelopes; dates of service matter.
- Your mortgage documents, including the original commitment if you have it.
- Your most recent mortgage statement.
- A payout or reinstatement figure from your lender, ideally in writing.
- Your title record, so every registered charge is visible.
Useful if you have them
- Recent pay stubs, or the last two years of self-employment records.
- Your most recent notice of assessment.
- A list of other debts — who, how much, secured or not.
- Property tax notices, and condo fee statements if applicable.
- Any correspondence with your lender, including emails confirming what was agreed.
Write one page before you go
Genuinely worth the twenty minutes. A single page covering: what happened and when, what you have already tried, what you want to happen, and the deadline you are working to.
Under stress people tell the story out of order and run out of appointment. One page keeps you on track and lets the adviser see the shape of it immediately.
If you cannot find things
Go anyway. Missing documents are normal, and most can be obtained — lenders must provide statements, titles can be searched, and court documents can be re-obtained by a party to the action.
Not having the full set is not a reason to postpone an appointment. Postponing is what costs you.
Questions people ask
General information about the Alberta foreclosure process — not legal or financial advice, and nothing here guarantees an outcome. Every file is different.