Posted by Joe Ewing on 12/15/06 12:01am
Msg #166037

Strange call tonight

Caller was working for a discount 4 you signing service in San Diego. 360+ living trusts guranteed contract and wanted my opinion on how much to pay the notary. I said $100 per Trust flat rate since the trust was mailed to the client and the notary shows up and notarizes it. However the Signing Service is only getting $75 per trust. Offer the notary $40?

Notaries expect a call soon because these trusts are beings milled by some company all over California and the Signing Service is a shoestring operation.

Reply by Lee/AR on 12/15/06 7:12am
Msg #166049

It seems a new scam is born everyday.

Reply by Jersey_Boy on 12/15/06 8:18am
Msg #166055

I would accept $40 to notarize a trust so long as all I do is show up and notarize. No printing, shipping, faxing, etc.

Oh... and it would have to be in my home zip code....

Reply by Lee/AR on 12/15/06 11:15am
Msg #166088

This is what I meant by 'scam'...


The big issue is do you really want all your assets in a trust churned out like this.

Reply by Gary_CA on 12/15/06 10:06am
Msg #166076

$40 not so bad...

if there's nothing to do but notarize... theres no explaining, arguing or calling the LO to find out how the payment magically increased by 30%... I'd do one and see how it goes.


The big issue is do you really want all your assets in a trust churned out like this? Maybe the doc is airtight... MAYBE... but you know there's no good consulting about who and what to put in it, and all that.

If you need a trust you need an attorney you can trust.

Reply by BarbaraL_CA on 12/15/06 1:07pm
Msg #166099

I wouldn't take it for $40. I do alot of trusts and most contain 8 to 14 signatures. At $10/signature that's $80-$140 not including mileage. I do quite a few trusts for a company that pays $10/signature + $40 travel. These are trusts put together by a local attorney.

I agree with Joe... I tend to believe this is a "trust mill operation", and probably not done by an attorney.

Reply by Gary_CA on 12/15/06 2:58pm
Msg #166116

Oh $#%^!

8 to 14 sigs.... hmmm... I guess I'd better actually do some trusts before I go shootin' off my mouth or taking lowballer jobs...

Oops... I figured it's pretty much like a will with some extra frills, couldn't be as hard as a loan, so what the heck!

Thanks for the free experience.

Reply by BarbaraL_CA on 12/15/06 4:39pm
Msg #166141

When I say Trusts, I'm referring to...

an entire Living Trust package: Abstract of Trust, Declaration of Trust, Durable Powers of Attorney, Healthcare Directives, Last Will & Testaments, Quitclaim Deeds for Property transfer to Trust, etc.

Reply by Joe Ewing on 12/15/06 6:29pm
Msg #166167

In the early 1990's my Managing General Agent (located in Orange County) when I sold Insurance for a Texas based company had a seperate operation going that did living Trusts without an attorney. The purpose of the trust was to expose the assets of the buyer. Once exposed the sellors would attempt to convince the buyer to purchase Anunitys from the company doing the trust. This guy made millions of dollars until the State of California shut him down. A Trust mill is not a money maker unless it involves other products. Oh his notary was also indited by the state.