Lending & guarantees
Independent legal advice certificates for guarantors
If your bank has asked you to see your own solicitor and come back with a signed certificate, we do them properly and quickly — in person at Golden Beach or Scarborough, or by video anywhere in Queensland.
What a solicitor's certificate is — and what it is not
A certificate of independent legal advice is signed by a solicitor confirming that they explained the loan, guarantee and security documents to you, independently of the borrower and the lender, and that you understood them and signed freely. Lenders require it because courts have set aside guarantees where the guarantor did not understand the transaction — the well-known example being Garcia v National Australia Bank, where a wife guaranteed her husband's company debts, received no benefit and had the guarantee set aside.
So the certificate protects the lender's ability to enforce. That is fine — but it is not the reason to take the appointment seriously. The reason is that a guarantee secured over your home is usually the largest financial risk you will ever sign, and this meeting is the last point at which it can be limited, capped or refused.
Fixed fees
- Standard guarantee or loan package
- From $990
- incl. GST — guarantee and indemnity, mortgage or general security agreement, loan offer, certificate issued
- Self managed super fund borrowing
- From $2,000
- incl. GST — includes review of the fund deed, bare trust and limited recourse borrowing arrangement
The fee is confirmed before the appointment. More complex facilities — multiple guarantors, layered security, corporate trustee structures — are quoted once we have seen the documents.
Who we advise
Parent and family guarantors
Guaranteeing a child's home loan, usually secured over the family home. We explain what is at risk, whether the guarantee can be limited or released later, and what happens if the borrower separates, loses work or defaults.
Company directors and spouses
Business loans, overdrafts, equipment and trade finance almost always come with director guarantees, and often a spouse guarantee secured over a jointly owned home. We cover all-monies wording, cross-collateralisation and exit.
Self managed super fund borrowings
Limited recourse borrowing arrangements involve the fund deed, a bare trust, the borrowing documents and personal guarantees from the members. We review the structure as well as the guarantee before we certify.
Commercial and retail lease guarantors
Landlords take personal and bank guarantees on nearly every small business lease. We advise the guarantor, and where the premises are a retail shop we can issue the Form 12 legal advice report at the same time.
Family and related-party transactions
Loan agreements between family members, granny flat arrangements, property transfers and gift deeds — where both sides need to show the advice was independent for the arrangement to hold up.
Consent orders and financial agreements
Where each party must have received independent legal advice for the agreement to be binding. We give the advice and sign the certificate.
What we go through before we certify
The appointment is advice, not a signing ceremony. Before we sign anything we take you through:
- Whether the guarantee is limited to a figure or an all-monies guarantee covering future advances
- What property secures it, and whether the lender can sell your home without chasing the borrower first
- Events of default, cross-default and what the lender can do, in what order
- Interest, default interest, enforcement costs and how the debt grows after default
- How and when the guarantee can be released or reduced
- Whether a cap, a facility-specific guarantee or lenders mortgage insurance would achieve the same result with less exposure
- For SMSF matters — the fund deed, the bare trust, single acquirable asset rules and the limited recourse structure
For brokers, lenders and accountants
Settlement dates fall over when the guarantor advice is left to the last week. Send the documents through and we will confirm the fee and an appointment the same day, advise in person or by video, and return the executed certificate straight to you. We are a law practice with a Legal Practice Director admitted since 2003, so the certificate meets lender panel requirements that a conveyancing-only provider cannot satisfy.
Who does the work
Michael Klein
Legal Practice Director
Admitted 2003. Based in Redcliffe, Moreton Bay.
Read Michael's profile
Independent legal advice questions we are asked
What is a certificate of independent legal advice?
It is a certificate signed by a solicitor confirming they explained the loan, guarantee or security documents to you independently of the borrower and the lender, and that you understood them and signed freely. The lender keeps it as evidence you were properly advised.
How much does independent legal advice cost?
Our fees start at $990 including GST for a standard guarantee or loan and security package, and $2,000 including GST where a self managed super fund is involved, because the fund deed, bare trust and limited recourse borrowing arrangement also have to be reviewed. We confirm the fee before the appointment.
Can a conveyancer sign a solicitor's certificate?
No. Lenders require a certificate from an Australian legal practitioner holding a current practising certificate with professional indemnity insurance covering the advice. A licensed conveyancer cannot provide it, which is why these matters have to come to a law practice.
How quickly can you do it?
Most appointments are booked within a day or two and the certificate is issued the same day. Send the documents through or call 0488 340 853 and we will confirm the fee and a time.
Can the advice be given by video?
Yes, for most lenders. We advise guarantors across Queensland and interstate by video and then arrange execution and witnessing so the certificate meets the lender's requirements. Some lenders insist on a face-to-face appointment — we check their panel requirements first.
Can my partner and I see the same solicitor?
Not where one of you is the borrower and the other is the guarantor — independence from the person benefiting from the loan is the point of the exercise. Where you are both guaranteeing a third party and your interests align, one solicitor can usually advise you both. We assess conflict at the outset.
What do you need from me?
The letter of offer or loan agreement, the guarantee and indemnity, any mortgage or general security agreement, and photo ID. For an SMSF matter, also the fund trust deed, the bare or holding trust deed and the contract.
Do I have to sign?
No. The appointment exists so you can make an informed decision, and part of our job is telling you if we think the exposure is unreasonable or the guarantee could be limited, capped or released on better terms. Those changes have to be raised before you sign.
Settlement this week?
Call 0488 340 853 with the loan documents in front of you and we will confirm the fee and a same-day appointment.