About Us
Company Owner: Tiah M. Workman, Notary Public
Tiah Workman has been providing notarial services since receiving her Royal Decree in December, 1992. She operates a busy and successful practice in Nanaimo where she is a well-known and respected member of the community. Prior to becoming a Notary Public, Tiah worked for a number of law firms in Nanaimo with a focus on conveyancing.
Tiah has been very involved with the Nanaimo community for over 20 years. She has been involved with numerous organizations including the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, Nanaimo Women’s Business Network, Nanaimo Minor Baseball Association and Scouts Canada, to name a few. Tiah is a proud supporter and sponsor of youth sports in the Nanaimo Community, including Dover Bay Secondary School Athletics and Nanaimo Minor Baseball Association.
Tiah has been a Director of the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia since October 2000 and since that time has served on many of the Society’s Committees, presently serving as the chair of the Discipline Committee. Tiah is the current 2nd Vice-President of the Society and was also elected a Governor of the Notary Foundation in 2008.
Tiah has made a point of keeping on top of technology available in her areas of practice and has been a regular attendee of the annual Pacific Legal Technology Conference in Vancouver. Tiah’s office was one of the first conveyancing offices in Nanaimo to start using the Electronic Filing System (“EFS”) to register land and mortgage documents in the Land Title Office and continues to assist other offices to get up and running.
Tiah has undertaken the rather daunting task of digitizing all of her files so that information retrieval is available at the click of her mouse. The office uses only the most up-to-date server and computer equipment and is always looking for the most leading-edge technology to assist with their work.
Tiah has lived in Nanaimo for over 26 years and presently resides in North Nanaimo with her husband, Greg, and her two sons, Graeme and Sean, who are 21 and 19 respectively.
See www.notaries.bc.ca for a story on Tiah and her life published in the BC Notaries Scrivener magazine in Spring 2006. Also see www.notaries.bc.ca for Tiah’s son Sean’s article on his exchange program experience in Germany.
Staff
Cory Gund, Office Manager/Conveyancer
Iona Mayzes, Conveyancer
Nicole Ball, Receptionist
Greg Workman, IT Support/Husband
Where We Are Headed Now
Nanaimo has become the destination of choice for a large number of seniors. We are often assisting seniors whose family members may live in another part of the country or out of the country. As a service to our clients, we have started a new business to meet the needs of our senior clients who may need someone locally to act as their Power of Attorney, Representative and/or Executor. The new company, Family By Choice Seniors Support & Asset Management Ltd., offers a wide range of elder care services.
About BC Notaries
The tradition of Notaries goes back over 2000 years — to the dawn of recorded history. Notaries laid down the Codex Hammurabi, the oldest evidence of recorded law. Notaries were also employed by the Catholic Church to guide the light of civilization through the Dark Ages. The Notary’s reputation for trustworthiness meant that documents retained a stable reliability throughout centuries of upheaval.
BC Notaries are governed by the Notaries Act of BC and the discipline of their professional society. Today, the position of Notary as a member of one of the branches of the legal profession is sanctioned and safeguarded by law. BC Notaries are unique in North America, providing non-contentious legal services to the public. The Society receives over 1600 application inquiries from the public annually! On average 20 to 25 students per year are selected.
BC Notaries are appointed for life by Royal Decree. They are trustees and qualified professionals who have earned the public's confidence through their performance in various specified areas of law. Because the majority of Notaries concentrate on two areas of law, namely real estate and estate planning, our offices are devoted to and extremely proficient in successful document preparation. As we do not practice in contentious areas, we can focus our time and energy to our client’s deadlines and priorities.
The professional work of a Notary is covered by an errors and omissions insurance plan, together with a “special fund” administered by the Society that protects the public in the unlikely event of fraud.
The average age of a BC Notary is 43; 55 percent are women. BC’s Notaries reflect many ethnic backgrounds and languages. Over one third of BC Notaries are involved in fundraising and social service, over one third in business associations, and more than 30 percent are active in youth sports and recreation.
