Some states allow notaries to do signature witnessing. I don't know if what Yoli/CA described would be good enough even for signature witnessing in any state, but perhaps it would be legit somewhere.
Ordinarily, an invalid notarization doesn't make a document any worse than if it hadn't been notarized at all. However, when crossing borders, the immigration agent you meet has broad discretion about whether to let someone in or not. So you can never say something is definitely OK or definitely not OK.
I know the CA SOS issues lots of statements about how CA notaries can't decide which certificate to use. We don't have any guidance in VT about that. Representing someone in court or drafting something that is traditionally thought of as a legal document, like a deed, is verboten. But if there isn't any court involved, and the document isn't one traditionally drafted by lawyers, there's no clear rule against a notary suggesting which certificate to use. |