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Posted by  Marian_in_CA on 3/14/13 3:30am
The language a document is written in doesn't matter at all. What matters (for those of us in CA) is:
1) Can you communicate directly with the signer?
2) Can the signer tell you the nature of the document?
We can't make the determination that one actually comprehends the content of a document. I think that crosses a line of making legal or medical determinations that are way outside our job duties. We need to stick the the ability to communicate requirement. Using that as an excuse to get out of a notarization is the best way... WITHOUT bringing up things like, "This person doesn't understand what he/she is signing..." To me, that's dangerous ground and I won't go there.
Frankly, it's NONE of my business if they actually understand everything or not. If they can tell me, lucidly and voluntarily, what the general nature of the document happens to be and I can have a conversation with them (in any form... verbal, notes, texting, etc.) then I'm okay with notarizing their signature because I've done my job.
In this case, given your limited Spanish skills, I'd have turned it way too... only for the reason that you need to be able to communicate with her directly. Since she said you were a NOtario, that's a big red flag and needed her to understand the difference. If your Spanish wasn't good enough to determine that, then yeah... you did the right thing.
Remember, our handbooks tell us that we're allowed to notarize documents in another language, even if we can't read it. We are specifically told that the content is not our concern. That goes for documents in English, too. |
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