The Notarial Council said Tuesday that any matters related to pending files and deposits held by a recently deceased notary are a civil matter and those affected should seek legal advice.

It was reacting to the news that clients of the late notary Ivan Barbara had been left in the dark over money they entrusted to the notary after signing promise-of-sale agreements on property.

Barbara died in India earlier this year after contracting Covid-19.

The Council also said that the government’s Chief Notary has been asked to take possession of all deeds and wills held by the deceased and which have not been reviewed yet so as to preserve the acts.

In a statement, the council said the heritage process of the estate of the late Notary Ivan Barbara “is still an ongoing process and the Notarial Council has no formal indication at the moment as to who the heirs at law may be.”

Moreover, until the said process is concluded, it is not officially and conclusively possible to verify with any bank the number or the status of any accounts held in name of a deceased person, which will be frozen at time of notification of death, it said.

“The Notarial Council has been formally informed by Dr Phyllis Aquilina on the 30th July, 2021, on behalf of Ms Rosanne Barbara Zarb, the widow of the late Notary Ivan Barbara, that she has filed an application in Court for the renunciation to the inheritance of the late Notary Barbara by the said widow. The Notarial Councl has not had sight of, or been provided with, a copy of, either the application or the relative note of enrollment, to date. This communication was received in reply to the Council's formal request that, said legal representative, furnishes a full list of all acts (final contracts and wills) already published by Notary Barbara which are still pending collection and review, and are in possession of the widow, the heirs at law or third parties.”

The council said it has since contacted the Attorney General and the Chief Notary to Government so that any deeds and wills published by Barbara which have not yet been submitted for review by Court are handed over to the Chief Notary to Government, as the officially appointed keeper.

This in order to expedite the review process which, in normal circumstances, takes place on a yearly basis.

“This process, whereby Review Officers of the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts inspect all deeds and wills received by Notaries in Malta and Gozo during the previous calendar year, ensures proper accountability and timely action in case any breaches are evidenced in cases of published contracts.”

Regarding matters relating to pending files and deposits, this is a civil matter and any interested person should seek legal advice through an independent legal advisor, as it falls outside the remit and scope of authority vested in the Notarial Council by law.

“The Notarial Council has since October 2016 formulated a clear agenda for the digitalisation of all Notarial Services and in particular for a paperless property tax payment and registration system. The aim is for a more efficient, secure and transparent system that would allow near real time registration of deeds and payment of taxes with immediate notification, linking banks, departments, Notaries and the parties, in order to strengthen legal certainty and curb any abuse as much as possible. At present we have initiated the online registration and payment of deeds, but the current implementation leaves essential elements from our original proposal (like real-time inter-bank payments and tokenisation through Distributed Ledger Technology) out of the workflow, which is highly regrettable,” the council said. a