Posted by Sheriden on 4/5/08 11:36am
Msg #242304

Adoption notarizations

Hi, does any one notarize adoption papers? If so, how complicated is it? Anything special needed? How much do you charge? Thank you for your input.

Sheriden

Reply by Les_CO on 4/5/08 11:48am
Msg #242307

I've done several, for foreign adoptions. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, I would not bother with it. Most take several trips (to MD's offices, sheriffs dept. backgroung checks, Apostles) A real pain. And half the time you feel so sorry for the people involved, you (read:I) don't have the heart to charge them.

Reply by hp/MD on 4/5/08 12:10pm
Msg #242310

I have done several of them. All of them at the doctor's office. Once the doctor had already signed the paper which I could not accept. He did not want to redo the papers and I left. What a jerk.

Reply by SheilaSJCA on 4/5/08 9:30pm
Msg #242357

I love to do adoption notarizations. The parents are always very happy to be moving forward, getting more items completed on their never-ending list of procedures. They do take time, but no more so than other business related appointments. I treat them as any other appointment, with my state allowed fees and travel fees. Usually you develop a relationship with the parents after meeting with them so many times. I have even had a few send me the adoption announcement, when the event finally occurs. Most people in my area, going thru a foreign adoption, have done their research. ..and often have the notarial block added to their documents ahead of time. The visits go very smoothly, whether its at a Dr's office, Sherrif's office or wherever.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 4/5/08 12:17pm
Msg #242311

I just had an adoption appointment about a week ago. I was asked to meet the couple at the doctor's office. I charged a base fee of $50 to meet them at the doctor's office which was in the next county and on a military base, but let them know that I would be charging additional if we had to wait for the doctor. We did have to wait for the doctor, but during that time they had about 10 papers that they needed their signatures notarized on. They said that everything they send to the foreign country had to be notarized. The docs were various statements that they had to attest to. Two I remember were a copy of each of their passports, with a statement typed underneath certifying that it was a copy of their passport. It even had the notary certificate on it already. They signed it and I notarized.

We had not quite finished when the doctor called us in to notarize a health certification form. We finished up the other notarizations after we were done with the doctor. The whole thing came to $100 and took about an hour. I did not charge them extra for waiting for the doctor because we were taking care of notarizing their own paperwork while we were waiting. This is my only experience with adoptions but I would love to have more like that!

I had a call just the other day from someone else needing adoption paperwork notarized. She will be calling me back next week after her husband gets back in town. Funny thing is she said something about the social worker not doing her notarizations properly on the home-check docs (not sure what happened there!)

As far as the Apostilles go, that is something that the people who are adopting must take care of on their own, so I'm not sure what Les was referring to about that. I did not have to go to the sheriff's office or have a background check done - again, not sure what Les is referring to. I also did not feel sorry for the people, but rather I was excited for them because they were so happy about the adoption and were so glad that I came to help them get the doctor's signatures notarized. (They said that military notaries could not do it because they would not be able to obtain an Apostille for a military notary.) Some may think less of me for charging regular fees for adoption work, but I'm in business here and I feel my fees were fair. I charged them my state allowed fees of $5 per notarization plus the travel fee.

Reply by Les_CO on 4/5/08 3:26pm
Msg #242324

Yes, the Apostils are the problem of the people trying to do the adoption, but they ask you, and no one has ever given them any clear answers. Yes, your commission must NOT expire within the year in most cases. (it takes a Looong time) The “background check” is not for the notary, but for the proposed parents, and they have to do it at the Sheriffs Dept. (You must meet them there and notarize the Sheriffs signature.) AND SO ON! What I was trying to say was “Don’t mess with it!” This is money loser. Unless in your heart you care about this sort of thing, don’t do it!

Reply by Cari on 4/5/08 4:33pm
Msg #242330

I have done a few...and one similiar to CopperheadVA...

but I ended up charging only $75.00 for the whole deal - I had two different signings at two separate doctors offices ($25 each) then a final signing in their home ($25) - but I didn't ask how many docs I would be signing, I just assumed maybe 2 docs, it ended up to be at least 10 docs. (If this happens to you, you can charge per doc if you like- I wished I had thought about that before I gave them a price quote, I could've went with $10 bucks a doc.)

In Illinois, the adopted parents are responsible for their own background checks and pay the State Police directly and the State Police do their own notarizations. I have to notarize the adopted parents signature, after they receive their background check to verify that it was them confirming their background check. Extra work.

And I agree with the some that posted, that we are in business, and are here to make money. So, it really is up to you whether you want to go thru the hassle or not. But since you asked, here are a few tips:

1. Ask how many docs you are going to sign and decide on a flat rate or per doc fee.
2. Ask if you need to go to more than one doctor's office to notarize a health statements - again charge flat rate or per doc or per signing.
3. Tell them up front if you will re-do docs at a fee or no fee, in case the foreign country or adoption agency rejects the notarized docs.

(Sometimes this happens - for one of my older cases, the client went thru 4 notaries before she got to me, and praised me a few weeks later when she told me that the docs I notarized were good.)

Hope this helps you in your decision - you can also PM me for more tips.

Reply by MelissaCT on 4/6/08 2:48pm
Msg #242430

Re: I have done a few...and one similiar to CopperheadVA...

I've done several & always charge the statutory fees. More often than not, I've been given more than what I've charged due to the parents being grateful for the convenience of a traveling notary. They are very excited & I've even had the process for different countries explained to me, which is a really neat thing to learn about.

If it is a Dr signature, I always request that they make an appointment or verify that the Dr is willing to sign during a lunch period or break to avoid any major waiting. So far, so good.

Reply by Snuggles on 4/7/08 10:12am
Msg #242484

Be Careful with these If They are not done Properly they have to be redone.

I get calls and do several of THESE because others do not do them to the GUIDELINES and they have to be redone. The Private Parties are not happy and then they have to pay another Notary to redo them.

It is just not stamping a Paper, it is a procedure that is Required in VIRGINIA, I just had to REDO another one that was not done to what that Country Requires.

Reply by sue_pa on 4/5/08 12:40pm
Msg #242312

A few weeks ago I completed the other end - the birth parents giving up their newborn little girl. They were an early 20s aged married couple who lived in a decent apartment. The baby was born Sunday and was in Texas by Monday. I did the paperwork for them to give up their parental rights on Wednesday. Very sad.

Reply by Roger_OH on 4/5/08 2:09pm
Msg #242318

Re: Adoption notarizations - no guilt about charging...

I do a number of these; just another transaction in my view. The medical docs, reference letters, etc can easily total $100 or more, and I'm not giving that much away. Besides, most of the costs associated with adoptions are tax deductible anyway, so I give them a receipt for my services and they're happy with it.

Reply by Trinity Mobile Notary and Signing Agency - Notary and Processing on 4/5/08 4:27pm
Msg #242328

Re: Adoption notarizations - no guilt about charging...

We charge $100-$125 if its an attorney involved we have charged as much as $175.00 as they can be 'anal' to put it nicely.

The parents are very humble nice and tearful and just want to get on with their lives with their new child---and its tax deductible so our charge is minimal by comparison.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 4/5/08 9:49pm
Msg #242360

Re: Adoption notarizations - no guilt about charging...

I agree on the fee issue. I've also found people to be very grateful and accommodating. They are undertaking the adoption voluntarily and must understand that there will be fees involved. This is something I struggle with all the time because my nature is to want to help people out, but when I look at it rationally, it's a no-brainer. We are providing a necessary service and could possibly be among the lowest paid of all the service providers they will need to pay to complete the transaction. Does anyone think the doctors are going to give them a discount for their wellness exams just because they want to adopt? I think not... And I'd bet the adoption services make a pretty penny on the transaction, too!

Reply by MichiganAl on 4/5/08 12:47pm
Msg #242313

Mine have always been easy and never needed multiple trips. Usually just meet at the doctor's office. I do tell the people to make sure the doctor doesn't sign ahead of time as many of them will. The only thing I've found is that some countries require that your commission is good for at least one year from the time you're doing the notarization.

Reply by Gerry_VT on 4/5/08 1:42pm
Msg #242316

Commission good for a year

MichiganAl wrote "The only thing I've found is that some countries require that your commission is good for at least one year from the time you're doing the notarization. " That would be a big problem for Vermont, since all notary commissions expire on the same day, which would make foreign adoptions impossible in the fourth year of notary terms.

Reply by MichiganAl on 4/5/08 7:07pm
Msg #242345

Re: Commission good for a year

What an odd way to handle commissions. I guess you can get away with doing them all at once with such a small population. But that makes for a curious problem with some adoptions between 02/10/10 and 02/10/11 (I looked up the expiration date). Good luck getting a doctor to drive to another state to have their signature notarized or getting a third world adoption agency to waive the requirement. I have no idea what the solution would be, but the expiration question comes up frequently. I had to turn down several requests in 2007 before I was eligible to renew my commission.

Reply by Gerry_VT on 4/6/08 10:57am
Msg #242409

Re: Commission good for a year

I suppose you could get it notarized by some official who has the power to administer oaths and take acknowledgements, but is not a notary, so the office either expires on a different date, or is for life. This would include state and federal judges, and military officers.

Reply by MelissaCT on 4/6/08 2:51pm
Msg #242431

Re: Commission good for a year

Not all papers have the requirement of expiration greater than 1 year. I always make sure to inform requesters of when my commission expires. As long as they have the apsotille verifying my commission, etc. that is acceptable. Mind you, this is not for every case, but I have encountered ones where my commission could expire next week & it's still good for the document notarized.