Posted by Robert/FL on 5/13/10 2:52pm
Msg #336354

Is electronic notarization still active in FL?

I had a deposition transcript come in today, and the notary's certificate had an original stamp but the signature was computer printed and had a logo that said "RealLegal - Notary for eTranscript". I called RealLegal and left a message for more info.

I thought that since the NNA discontinued its electronic notary seals that there was no longer any eNotarization. To be honest I know absolutely nothing about how eNotarization works. Could anyone explain it?

Reply by C. Rivera Chicago Notary Services on 5/13/10 3:04pm
Msg #336355

First do a search on the difference between e-notarization

and e-closings!

Reply by BossLadyMD on 5/13/10 3:06pm
Msg #336356

Robert/FL this message & also message # 336230

Robert, I have been reading your posts for some months now and the questions you post and comments you make give the impression that you are an attorney (UPL?). For example, in Message 336230 you state that 'we keep copies of the wills we draft'. As a notary, you are not authorized to draft a will, so who is the WE? Someone on that posts told you to ask the attorneys that you WORK for. As a notary, you should not be remotely concerned with how to store any document that you notarize, not even as a courtesy.

You sometimes provide insightful feedback and scenarios, but a lot of the questions you pose on here should answered by the attorneys that you WORK FOR. You are skating on thin ice, JMHO.

Reply by C. Rivera Chicago Notary Services on 5/13/10 3:09pm
Msg #336359

my guess is he's a student probably interning as a legal

assistant or paralegal...not knowing ANYTHING yet about the legal biz.

Reply by Robert/FL on 5/13/10 3:41pm
Msg #336370

Intern? LOL

I have been a legal assistant for 3 years and in that 3 years have been entrusted with an enormous amount of responsibility. I am the sole case manager for a load of approximately 100 active family law, civil, and probate files. I know more than you will ever know about the "legal biz". No- not an intern - a genuine legal assistant and I intend to become a Florida Registered Paralegal next May when I have sufficient years of experience to earn the designation.

"We" refers to "our firm". Attorneys are not the only people who work at law firms, you know. Anyone who knows anything about legal assistants knows that we do a significant amount of work for the attorneys including doing most, and in some cases all, of their research and drafting of pleadings and other documents. In addition, we (the non-attorney staff) often make a lot of the office policies. The will that I discussed in the other post was not a will drawn by the attorneys I work for (and when I say "drawn by the attorneys" I really should say "drawn by me under the supervision of an attorney", because the attorneys at my firm NEVER sit down and type something like a will - the legal asst. does and the attorney merely checks it over).

Florida Statutes 57.104 defines "legal assistant" as "a person, who under the supervision and direction of a licensed attorney engages in legal research, and case development or planning in relation to modifications or initial proceedings, services, processes, or applications; or who prepares or interprets legal documents or selects, compiles, and uses technical information from references such as digests, encyclopedias, or practice manuals and analyzes and follows procedural problems that involve independent decisions".

Reply by BossLadyMD on 5/13/10 4:02pm
Msg #336378

you are a legal assistant, not an attorney

I know that several people who work in a law firm besides attorneys. Such as people who like to spend their lunch being nosey and reading over confidential client files. I'm not impressed and again, you are skating on thin ice.

Reply by C. Rivera Chicago Notary Services on 5/13/10 4:14pm
Msg #336380

Re: Intern? LOL

...I know more than you will ever know about the "legal biz".

Sorry dude, I've been a Paralegal since 1988 - and last I checked 20 was more than 3....so yeah, I def have more years of experience in the legal biz than you.

A legal assistant is one teeny tiny step above a legal secretary, and becoming a Registered Paralegal doesn't mean squat. Once you're registered as an RP with the NFPA, its the equivalent to being a CNSA thru the NNA, which really means nothing.

Some of your posts are teetoring on UPL and you should watch yourself - as a non-attorney, you could get hit with some serious accusations from the ABA, or your local bar associations.
This is from the experience to the not so experience...take it as it is...

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 5/13/10 3:10pm
Msg #336361

BossLady - he means the collective "We" as in

the firm - hazard of the trade I guess - law firm people are referred to as We...

As far as electronic notarization - that's not something to pose to his attorneys...and I'm not even sure if it's active in FL although I do believe it is...and Robert? It's part of the training to be commissioned.

http://www.flgov.com/pdfs/ref_manual41-68.pdf

Not sure where you'd get an electronic seal now that NNA is out of it...I suppose I should check but have had no need for it.

Reply by BossLadyMD on 5/13/10 3:20pm
Msg #336366

actually, this response is for message 336230

I was telling Robert to consult the attorneys in the law firm as to the storage and maintenance of wills. His asking about how to store a document (will) that he simply notarized was improper. That's none of his concern.

Robert is a notary (and I know he is not a signing agent). We all take our duties as public officials seriously but there is a reason why every state manuel makes it a point to stress that we are not lawyers. Some folks need to be reminded of that.

Reply by Robert/FL on 5/13/10 3:42pm
Msg #336372

I don't know a lick more about eNotarization than what is

stated in the online notary course. And that is clear as mud. I asked the SOS for clarification once, and they said talk to legal counsel. I have made no effort since then to look into eNotarization, but I do know that there are notaries here who have done them, so I wanted to get some outside input.

And Cali - I know the difference between an eNotarization and an eClosing... did ANYTHING in my original post refer to eClosings?

Reply by MistarellaFL on 5/13/10 3:06pm
Msg #336357

http://notaries.dos.state.fl.us/education/elecnot.html

Reply by PAW on 5/13/10 8:02pm
Msg #336439

That is more than 10 years ago.

The only bill that I'm aware of in the 2010 session that is related to notaries is S2330 which died "in messages" on 4/30.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 5/13/10 3:46pm
Msg #336374

The NNA didn't have the sole market in e-seals...

I don't know about Florida, but in CA electronic notarization is perfectly acceptable. HOWEVER... few people do it because it confuses them, they lack the proper equipment or just plain don't understand it.

E-notarization just takes place on the computer instead of on paper. Personal appearance is still required, as normal.

I have an e-seal and I use it quite often, especially for two particular attorneys. I do this in their office on my laptop. To get signatures on the documents, we use a "bamboo" pad. I then create a secured PDF file that I give to the attorneys. They use this a lot for electronic filings.

My e-seal (got it from here at NotRot) came on a CD, but I converted it to a PDF stamp. SO it works just like a regular stamp, just electronic -- and I keep it encrypted with password access. Anyone familiar with digital signatures in Adobe Acrobat (the full version, not just the reader) will understand what I mean.

Reply by C. Rivera Chicago Notary Services on 5/13/10 3:54pm
Msg #336375

Marian you just answered my next question..where to buy... n/m

Reply by Grammyzoom on 5/13/10 3:55pm
Msg #336376

Marian in CA

I pop in and out of NotRot just to see if there is anything interesting being discussed and this subject interests me.

I will look into Arizona's requirements but I do not believe that the E-notarizations has come to the Wild West yet.

I do utilize the digital signature on Adobe and have wondered if this was similar but more specific and of course guarded than the digital signature. So this is actually software that you purchase? And under what circumstances would you use the E-notarizations? I perform notarizations on loan documents almost exclusively and do quite a few E-signings. Is this something I should be looking into? From reading your posts I think you are one of those more knowledgable go to gals so thanks for your response.

You can post here, send me a PM or send me an Email. Any answers will be appreciated.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/13/10 4:01pm
Msg #336377

Re: Marian in CA

"From reading your posts I think you are one of those more knowledgable go to gals so thanks for your response.'

Grammy
you are most astute:)

Reply by Grammyzoom on 5/13/10 4:13pm
Msg #336379

Re: Marian in CA

Thank you Sylvia. I am always anxious to learn and always excited to teach.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 5/13/10 4:40pm
Msg #336384

Re: Marian in CA

A really good example of electronic notarizations would be if you purchased a bond through NotRot. At least, the bond I have is done like this.

For me, I use them at two specific law offices. These lawyers do a lot of electronic filings with courts.

There is software out there that will help you with document management for this, but I don't use it. The way I have it set up is unique to these two offices... but I know of at least one other notary that uses DigiSign -- but she's a stationary notary so it works for her much better.

Usually, when I get to the office, the attorney's assistant emails me a Word file. Using my Bamboo software (Wacom tablet), the people sign the document in the proper place, just like a regular notarization... only on the computer. I then convert the file to PDF, add my seal and secure the file in Adobe Acrobat using a specific range of settings the prevent changes, copying, etc of the file and I email the notarized file back to the assistant. The assistant then usually prints several copies, but the PDf file is, I guess, sent to the court electronically.

It's a couple of extra steps on my part in order to secure the file, but I don't mind that at all.

Honestly, most notaries probably shouldn't try it unless they have a REALLY good grasp of technology and know what they're doing -- or they are using well developed software that does it for them.

Also, I still use a paper journal... so nothing changes on that front. I still get an ink signature in my journal. ideally, I'd love to use an electronic journal, I'm just not there yet. I really like the DigiSign solution and if I ever save up enough extra money to do it, I might finally break down and switch over.

Reply by Notarysigner on 5/13/10 5:17pm
Msg #336391

Re: Marian in CA

Marian...when I grow up I wanna be just like you!

Reply by C. Rivera Chicago Notary Services on 5/13/10 4:24pm
Msg #336382

AND u sure do have ALOT of time on your hands to be online

on 'company time', writing on this forum and others.

I'm sure your lawfirm would NOT be pleased with the way you are managing your time or using their computer and other resources for personal reasons.

And with sooooo many cases, how many was it again, oh yeah, 100 that you are allegedly managing, I seriously suggest you get back to work.

Also, as previously suggested, just stop wasting yours and everyone else's time by asking questions you already know the answers to, have previously asked, or are irrelevant.

Reply by MW/VA on 5/13/10 4:47pm
Msg #336385

I'm guessing it's a reason to be on the internet for

"research" & work-related discussions.
In the last 3 days alone, Robert has started 6 topics, and has 42 posts. That would normally be considered "excessive posting/noise" on this forum.

Reply by Grammyzoom on 5/13/10 4:59pm
Msg #336386

Thank you Marian

Re: the electronic journal, I knew a notary who used one when I lived in Northern California and both of us would do signings at First American Title. I would be in and out of my signings while she would be setting up the equipment. I found it to be cumbersome and complicated. Of course that was only my observation but I decided then I would stick to the old fashioned way and use a journal.

Anyway, thanks for the information, it was helpful!

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/13/10 5:04pm
Msg #336388

Re: I'm guessing it's a reason to be on the internet for

"That would normally be considered "excessive posting/noise" on this forum."

Sure would - maybe no-one has hit the "report" button.