Posted by HisHughness on 8/7/13 9:04am
Msg #479500

Picky picky picky

Ringggg…

This is Hugh.

Are you a mobile notary?

Yes, I am.

Can you come to BFEgypt, TX? I need a power of attorney.

I can, but there may be a less expensive way for you to do it. Who’s going to be signing the POA?

I guess I will. It’s for my father-in-law.

Why would you be signing a POA for your father-in-law?

I have his POA. We’re building a house, and the lender wants its own POA.

Um…you’re going to be using a power of attorney to sign a power of attorney? I don’t think that would work. You probably need to check with the lender on that.

Well, I guess we could help him make an X.

Ooookaaay…is he mentally alert: Know his birthday, how many kids he has, what the date is?

Yeah, but you couldn’t understand a word he says…Tell you what, that’s okay. We’ll call somebody else.

Reply by HrdwrkrVA on 8/7/13 9:18am
Msg #479501

Yrs ago, I had a 60 yr old womanwho wanted to take docs

upstairs to have her 80+ husband sign. He "couldn't come down"; I told het I had to WITNESS/SEE him sign. Of course, she was taking out a bunch of equity.

Upstairs, from a hospital bed, he appeared catatonic: eyes didn't follow me; she had to hold his hand & was signing for him.

I excused myself; told TC I would adjourn closing bc I wasn't comfortable w/ his compentcy. She screamed & hollered: "I'll sue you - my husband is NOT incompetent!" I bid her adeiu & left. 30 minutes later, TC said MR was up & boy was he ever! Sitting downstairs, dressed & quite talkative!
Was it his evil twin?? REALLLLY good meds?? At THAT point I felt comfortable doing the signing.

I NEVER let someone tell me what legal risk I expose myself to - NEVER! Good for you!

Reply by 101livescan on 8/7/13 9:38am
Msg #479502

It's important to ask a lot of questions, like, what day is it?

Reply by Rita Adu on 8/7/13 9:44am
Msg #479503

I recently had one & was a little nervous b/c the wife informed me that her husband "had some good days and some bad days". I told her that I had to ensure that he understood what he was doing, and I would just ask him some simple questions like "what state he lived in and what day of the week it was". She told me that he definately would not be able to answer those quetions. I terminated the signing. The TC was totally understandable.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/7/13 4:44pm
Msg #479563

I like the idea of asking what state (or city) someone is in or what their birthday is, but frankly, I suggest caution about asking what day it is as a definitive test (unless they can tell you) because for many, every day is pretty much the same as any other. (*I* frequently have to check my phone to remember the day of the week - and for my first appointment of the day I often also check the date to be absolutely certain. ) For some people, things associated to relative time are kind of like being "directionally challenged" for others... I know some very smart people who couldn't find their way out of a paper bag without their GPS!

Questions like that can be a challenge for some, but that doesn't mean they're incompetent to make decisions about other things. It's transitory, related to short term memory - and a detail that some seniors may not care a hoot about. However, the short term memory may be the very issue we care about when testing for competency for signing key documents - but it's a very tricky issue. Maybe you could ask them what they had for breakfast or lunch that day. (But how many of you can quickly remember what you had for breakfast or lunch yesterday? )

This issue has been addressed here before, with some better suggestions that I can offer, some related to checking with a person to see if they might be having a stroke. I'm not convinced that would be exactly the same situation, but it can offer us some guidelines to work with.

Reply by Eve/VA on 8/7/13 9:55am
Msg #479505

Re: Picky picky picky LOL! n/m

Reply by jnew on 8/7/13 1:04pm
Msg #479537

Re: Picky picky picky LOL!

This post emphasizes the importance of the personal appearance and judging how the signer behaves during that appearance. I always make the signer prove the rule in showing understanding of the process. An additional question I ask: "Do you wish to allow Mr. X or Ms. X to act as an attorney for you.?" If one facet is off, I am out of there.

Reply by LKT/CA on 8/7/13 6:05pm
Msg #479579

<<<Ringggg…....This is Hugh.......Are you a mobile notary?......Yes, I am.>>>

Here's how most of my calls begin <LOL!!>.

Ringggg......Hello, THIS IS Lisa........Hi, is this Lisa?

Reply by Karla/OR on 8/8/13 2:29am
Msg #479625

LOL!!! n/m