Posted by LKT/CA on 7/11/13 8:21pm
Msg #476469
GNW - Notarial Cert w/o a Doc
Had a request to notarize a doc going to another country. Met with elderly signer and the adult child (who made the arrangements). They showed me the all-purpose notary cert from two previous year's notarizations, completed by the same notary. We greet each other, sit down, and I open my vaultz case. Client takes out a folder with various papers, a passport and certificates. Here's how the conversation went:
Me: Let's see what we have here....where's the paperwork?
Adult Child: There isn't any. The previous notary just gave us this <acknowledgment>.
Me: What did your parent sign?
A.C.: Nothing
Me (wide eyed): What do you mean "nothing?" Your parent signed a paper and the notary then wrote this acknowledgment.
A.C.: No....they just gave us this and we mailed it to <country> and they accepted it.
Me: You mean to tell me you have no papework of any kind that your parent signed, and the notary just wrote this up, signed and stamped it and gave it to you?
A.C.: Yes
Me: <Internal chuckle>: Okay, let me explain what notarizing means...<explanation given>. I cannot just sign and stamp a certificate. Additionally, let me read to you what the acknowledgment certificate says, thus the notary is declaring......<".......whose name is subscribed to the within instrument.......their signature on the instrument.....".
Me: <looking at person> If there's no instrument, meaning paperwork, how can they sign their name? How can I, as the notary, sign and stamp the certificate if there's no paperwork that was signed by the person appearing before me, as the acknowledgment certificate states?
A.C.: Ok, I understand now. But the other notary just gave us this and the country has been accepting it. So now what do we do?
Me: You can write a statement (for your parent) in regards to what the receiving country wants. Just write that in your own words, your parent signs it and I notarize their signature to the statement. Then the notarization is compliant per CA notary law.
A.C.: Okay.
Elderly parent signed their name to the statement written by adult child and I completed an acknowledgment.
Geez!! I had to explain that just because the country accepted the document doesn't mean the notarization was compliant. In fact, the certificate, while completed correctly by the other notary was useless because it was not attached to a signed document. I know that SSs/TCs ask for a loose notarial cert but I've never had a case in GNW where the notary completed a notarial cert without a doc to attach it to. That one truly was a first, and believe me, I've seen a lot of strange things (and people) in GNW-land!!
|
Reply by ikando on 7/11/13 8:49pm
Msg #476472
My "notaryland" story is about the notary who went to the hospital to notarize POA docs, and accepted the hospital wristband as ID. I found out when the family called me to notarize another POA. Don't know what was handled before, but I explained that the wristband is not proper ID.
|
