Client Info · Preparation
What to Bring: Document Checklist by Matter Type
The right paperwork turns a general conversation into concrete advice. Use these checklists to gather what matters for family, criminal, injury, estate, real estate, and immigration files in Alberta.
Documents are how a legal position is proved. A clear recollection is valuable, but a dated letter, a bank statement, or a service record is what a court, an insurer, or the opposing lawyer will actually respond to. Bringing the right material to your first meeting means the lawyer can move from listening to advising within the same hour, and it usually reduces the number of follow up requests that slow a file down in its early weeks.
Use the section below that matches your matter, and treat it as a guide rather than a requirement. Nobody is turned away for having an incomplete file. If a document is lost, held by someone else, or in another language, tell us and we will deal with it. Copies are almost always sufficient, and we will tell you the small number of situations where an original is genuinely required.
Bring these to any first meeting
Regardless of the type of matter, a short core set of documents is useful at every first consultation.
- Valid government photo identification, such as an Alberta driver licence, an Alberta identification card, or a passport.
- Any court document you have received or filed, including the front page showing the court file number.
- Correspondence from the other party, an insurer, a collection agency, or another lawyer.
- A written timeline of events with dates, prepared in your own words.
- Contact details for other people involved, including any previous lawyer who acted for you.
- Anything with a deadline printed on it, even if you are unsure whether it is important.
Family law matters
Family files turn on two things: the facts of the relationship and the financial picture. Income disclosure is mandatory in most support matters, so gathering it early saves both time and money.
- Marriage certificate, or evidence of the start and end of an adult interdependent relationship.
- Dates of cohabitation, marriage, and separation, along with the address each party now lives at.
- Birth certificates for any children of the relationship.
- The last three years of personal income tax returns with all notices of assessment.
- Recent pay statements, and for the self employed, financial statements and corporate records.
- Statements for bank accounts, credit cards, lines of credit, investments, and registered savings plans.
- Property records: mortgage statements, land titles, and any appraisal or market assessment.
- Pension statements and details of employment benefits, including group insurance coverage.
- Any existing agreement or court order dealing with parenting, support, or property.
- A parenting schedule as it currently operates, plus records of childcare, medical, and extracurricular costs.
- Where safety is a concern, any protection order, police file number, or record of reported incidents.
Criminal defence matters
Release and appearance documents
The release order, undertaking, summons, appearance notice, or promise to appear that was given to you, including every page showing conditions and the next court date.
The charging documents
The information or indictment if you have received it, along with any docket printout or court list showing the charges and the courtroom assigned.
Crown disclosure
Any disclosure package already provided, including police reports, witness statements, video or audio files, and certificates of analysis. Bring it in the form you received it.
Roadside and driving records
For impaired driving matters, any notice of suspension, roadside sanction paperwork, breath or blood test documentation, and your Alberta driving abstract if available.
Personal background material
Proof of employment, school enrolment, counselling or treatment participation, and community involvement. This material becomes important at sentencing and in resolution discussions.
Your own record of events
A private written account of what happened, prepared for your lawyer. Keep it to yourself and do not share it with anyone else, including friends and family.
Personal injury and insurance matters
Injury claims are built from medical records and financial loss records. Alberta has strict limitation periods, generally two years from the date the claim is discovered, so it is important to start gathering this material promptly.
- The police collision report number, or the incident report for a fall or workplace injury.
- Photographs of the scene, the vehicles, hazards, or visible injuries, with the original date stamps intact.
- Names and contact details of witnesses, along with anything they have already written down.
- All insurance correspondence, your own policy documents, and any adjuster claim number.
- Records relating to Section B accident benefits, including forms submitted and benefits paid or denied.
- Medical records: emergency department notes, family physician records, imaging results, and specialist reports.
- Physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage, and psychological treatment records with receipts.
- Prescription and out of pocket expense receipts, including mileage to appointments.
- Proof of lost income: pay statements before and after the incident, employer letters, and disability benefit records.
- A pain and function journal describing how the injury affects daily activities, work, and sleep.
Wills, estates, real estate, and immigration
Estate planning
A list of assets and debts, the names and addresses of intended beneficiaries and executors, any existing will, and details of registered plan beneficiary designations.
Estate administration
The original will if one exists, the death certificate or funeral director statement, asset and liability statements as at the date of death, and the names and addresses of beneficiaries.
Buying or selling property
The purchase contract with all amendments, mortgage approval or payout information, the current land title, the real property report, and condominium documents where applicable.
Immigration matters
Passports and travel history, all previous applications and decisions, any refusal or procedural fairness letter, and identity, relationship, or employment documents relied on in the application.
Business and commercial matters
Incorporation documents, shareholder or partnership agreements, corporate minute books, key contracts, and recent financial statements.
How to organise and deliver your documents
- 01
Sort by date, not by type
Chronological order lets a lawyer read the story of your matter in a single pass. Sorting by document type forces a reconstruction that takes billable time.
- 02
Keep the originals
Provide copies wherever possible and keep your originals in a safe place. Where an original is required, such as a signed will, we will tell you specifically.
- 03
Scan clearly if sending digitally
Use a scanner or a document scanning application rather than casual photographs. Make sure every page is legible, the full page is visible, and the file name identifies the document.
- 04
Do not edit or annotate
Send documents as they exist. Highlighting, cropping, and rewriting can raise questions about authenticity later, and it is better to list your comments separately.
- 05
Flag anything missing
Include a short note listing documents you know exist but cannot obtain. We can often request them formally through the appropriate institution or through the disclosure process.
Preserve, do not delete
Once a dispute is foreseeable, keep text messages, emails, voicemails, photographs, and social media content even where they seem unhelpful to you. Deleting material can cause far more damage than the content itself, and unhelpful evidence is usually manageable when your lawyer knows about it early.
Frequently asked questions
Come to the meeting without it. Many documents can be obtained afterwards, whether from a bank, an employer, a physician, Alberta land titles, a court registry, or through the formal disclosure process in litigation. Knowing that a document exists and is missing is itself useful information, because it tells your lawyer what needs to be requested and how quickly.
Sending key documents in advance is helpful, particularly court documents and anything with a deadline. Sending hundreds of pages before we have confirmed we can act is less useful. A good approach is to send the handful of documents that define the matter, then bring the rest with you so we can review the full set together.
Frequently, yes. In family and criminal matters especially, messages are often the clearest record of what people said and when. Preserve them by taking full screen captures that show the sender, the date, and the surrounding conversation rather than a single isolated line. Do not delete anything once a dispute has arisen.
Bring them anyway and tell us which language they are in. For many purposes an informal translation is enough to advise you, and a certified translation is only required when a document must be filed with a court, a tribunal, or an immigration authority. We can advise on which of your documents actually need formal translation.
Keep your own complete set for the life of the matter and for several years afterwards. Court orders, separation agreements, wills, land title documents, and settlement releases should be kept permanently. Store digital copies in at least two places, and keep signed originals somewhere secure and fire resistant.
Related pages
The information on this page is general in nature and is not legal advice. Every matter depends on its own facts. Contact Bhalla Law Offices to discuss your situation with a lawyer licensed in Alberta.