I agree with Linda. I've notarized what feels like a bazillion POA documents - and I've seen a wide variety of options. I limit my involvement to looking at a document to see whose signature(s) needs to be notarized and if the notary certificate is CA compliant. Clues include the number of notary certificates included and location of agent(s)' signatures, i.e. before or after the notary cert(s). Beyond that, it's none of my concern - and not my decision.
As with ANY other document to be notarized, I only want to know that:
* The signer has ID that provides satisfactory evidence (as specified by state law) that he/she is the person named in the document as signer. * The signer is competent, lucid, capable of expressing his/her wishes (directly, not through someone else). * The document represents his/her wishes and he/she is signing of his/her own free will. * The document is complete without any missing information.
Anything beyond that is "above my pay grade", as the saying goes. If they have questions, they need to consult an attorney or figure it out on their own. And in case it isn't obvious, if there's no signature, there's nothing to notarize. (That should go without saying, but we all know not to assume... )
I have no illusions that this will happen, but this basic information should pretty much eliminate the need to ever ask "Can I notarize this?" |