The latest in notary, Apostille, and business news from New York, NY.
A core part of a notarization is filling out the notarial certificate — details such as the date, location and signer for the notarial act taking place. If this wording is not printed on the document, you may need to attach a separate certificate form — referred to by some as a “loose certificate." Here are guidelines when to use or not to use separate certificate wording for a notarization.
Read MoreAs people found themselves in “safer at home” lockdowns and “work from home” situations, those who were lucky enough to stay employed capitalized on the life change by refinancing their mortgages, launching home improvement projects and taking other big-ticket financial moves which required notarizations. Similarly, Notaries across the country saw huge spikes in requests for service on wills, powers of attorney, pension forms, advance medical directives, 401k withdrawal requests and other important personal documents.
Read MoreNotaries asked to perform signings in health care facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes need to be prepared for unique circumstances, from family members and medical staff to the facility's own policies. Because patients in health care facilities can be very ill, heavily medicated or otherwise impaired, notarizing for them requires extra time, compassion and skill. Often, patients who need to sign documents have issues with alertness, positive identification, signing ability and other challenges you won't find covered in your Notary handbook.
Read MoreMany customers have no idea what type of notarization they need when they visit a Notary. But at the same time, Notaries cannot choose a notarial act on a signer's behalf. Follow the steps below to help you figure out what notarization your customer needs without violating the law. Step 1: Check for pre-printed wording. Many documents come with pre-printed Notary wording that clearly indicates what type of act is needed. For example, if your state requires specific wording for a jurat and that wording is pre-printed on the document, you may proceed with a jurat. However, if for any reason the certificate wording is unclear to you or the document lacks pre-printed notarial language, do not proceed until you can confirm what act is needed from another source.
Read MoreAs a Notary, you are required to refuse a notarization if the request is illegal. If someone wants you to perform a notarization and you aren't sure if it’s OK to proceed, ask yourself the following 3 questions. 1. Are you being asked to skip, ignore or falsify part of the notarization? If the answer is “yes,” that’s a clear warning sign the notarization shouldn’t be performed. Any request to skip personal appearance or identification of the signer, completion of the certificate wording or other essential elements is an immediate sign that something isn’t right.
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