Thank you again.
Bottom line is I am receiving different advice from different people here. Should I proceed by myself. (MY t4 shows a salary of only 20000 a year) or should I hire a lawyer to sort this all out. (They are expensive and I was trying to save the money if possible)?
I would suggest looking at this in stages - first collect the information you can and start to prepare forms, etc., and identify what issues you have. This seems a potentially significant one, but also potentially a complete nothingburger - I do not know.
Then the stages that involve a lawyer: go and see one or two or three and ask for just a consultation. That might be $250 or so where you identify what you think are the serious questions. See what they say. Perhaps they'll confirm one or the other.
Next stage with a lawyer - which is not at all required - would be to have them prepare your app and manage the process for you. That's going to be quite a lot more, but may not be necessary at all. Or not within your means - but at least you'll be better informed about the seriousness of the issues.
And by the way since you are clergy: ask around, both within the church and parishioners. Given circumstances, the church itself may have resources, and if not, parishioners can sometimes be willing to assist clergy a bit more. If you're a junior cleric, of course, also speak to the more senior ones.
