Make Your Business Our Business by Judith P. Lawrence

Author:Judith P. Lawrence
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2018-05-03T15:56:21+00:00

A notary must be careful never to give legal advice. Notaries have lost their commissions because later a client says, “That’s what the notary told me to do.” Remember, as a notary you are authenticating a signature, not what is contained in the document. Also remember that if someone looks uncomfortable or looks like he or she is being forced to sign the document, you as a notary have the right to abstain from notarizing the document(s).

You always need to be careful, but you need to be especially careful with mortgages and deeds and other recordable documents.

Let’s make up a scenario.

Ted comes to the office and asks, “Should I sign this Power of Attorney? My mom is in the hospital and I need to take care of everything.” Jill, the notary says, “Well, Ted, it looks good to me, let’s do it. Ted signs the document, Jill notarizes it, it is properly witnessed, and Ted leaves. But it was a Financial Power of Attorney and not a Power of Attorney allowing Ted to make medical decisions on behalf of his mother. Ted puts the document away. Two weeks later his mother takes a turn for the worse, she can no longer speak for herself and needs immediate surgery. Ted is surely glad he got that Power of Attorney signed but it was incorrect because he was not authorized to make medical decisions for his mother. His mother dies and Ted sues the notary because she said, “it looks good to me” and that was incorrect for Ted’s situation. It could have been avoided if Jill had said, “Ted, I think you should consult someone to make sure this document covers all of your needs. If you do not have the name of an attorney, I could suggest someone. As a notary, I cannot offer you my opinion as to whether this is the right document for you and your mother.”

So, (this is confession time) I once bent the rules. . .

A beautiful elderly woman showed up in my notary office at 6:30 P.M., her basket in tow. She had walked 18 blocks to get to my office and she was 94 years old. She sat down and said, “Hon, I really need a will. And you have to hurry up because I have to go home.” I thought she meant she was late for dinner, but I was wrong. I said, “Where is home?” and she said, “Home, hon. I’m too old to stay here too much longer.”

So first I tried the “call a lawyer” suggestion and she agreed. She made an appointment and after meeting with the lawyer she came back to my office and said he did not understand.

My next suggestion was that she go to a specific store where they sell templates. I thought that would be helpful. Now remember, at 94, she was looking for a basic will, not eight pages, the kind that all of our grandparents signed—I leave this to this person, and that to that person.

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