Posted by BrendaTx on 10/24/13 10:27pm
Msg #489705

Perspective: Ca. Notaries as Advocates for Seniors

[I realize this isn't about BGC or HVR, but perhaps some will be interested in this article. If it has already been posted, I apologize.]

The link below revisits the new law resulting from AB 477 that made notaries in California responsible for reporting issues that relate to Senior citizens. There are pros and cons for both sides of the argument. (Read about AB 477: http://goo.gl/zoMm9W.)

First, my praise and thanks goes to notary PJ Garcia (whoever you are) for testifying in legislative hearings on AB 477. Garcia went to lawmakers and told them how it was for notaries who would be taxed with this new responsibility. She is right, but she lost.

The argument of the 87-year old woman who was the driving force behind the bill and who also testified for passing AB 477 fell on the ears of lawmakers like a ton of bricks. She could not be ignored because she had a passionate and persuasive story to tell. Notary Garcia could not win against that on her own. My praise also goes to this active lady for taking action on her passion for protection of seniors.

This is well worth the read. I believe that the wisdom in this story is "We have to go to our statehouses and make them listen...oh yeah, and we should all be taking pilates."


================================

87-Year-Old Advocate Wants To Protect Seniors From Financial Abuse

Everything fell into place except for the happy ending.

June Glasmeier, an 87-year-old Thousand Oaks resident with red hair and a one-track mind, knows about financial scams that victimize seniors.

A year ago, a man in a parking lot offered to fix her dinged Cadillac for $220 while she shopped for groceries. Then he wanted her to take him to an ATM.

The scam went awry only because she didn't have a debit card.

"Basically, it all comes down to money," she said. "We're targets."

Glasmeier, who serves on several boards and takes Pilates class two days a week, doesn't like seeing a bull's-eye on anyone's back. She decided to do something...

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/23/87-advocate-seniors-financial-abuse_n_4147849.html

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 10/24/13 10:32pm
Msg #489706

It's not a new law, though... the Governor vetoed it.

Probably the one decent thing that man has done.

I'm all for protecting seniors. In fact, one of my other "hats" is working with a company who has direct contact with and works on behalf of seniors. I'm VERY VERY familiar with the day to day issues involved... and even I was against this bill. It's not the intent of protecting seniors that was the issue. It was a BAD bill and would have required extensive changes to CA law, extra training and possible legal ramifications... because it would have called for CA notaries to do things that we are presently not allowed to do.

Reply by BrendaTx on 10/24/13 10:55pm
Msg #489707

"the Governor vetoed it" - THANK YOU, MARIAN

This is crazy, but I thought that I had read that the first time through, then I went back and read it again and Sundowner's got me, I guess...I could not find that...thought I had imagined it...after the sun goes down, I am not worth shooting.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 10/24/13 11:22pm
Msg #489708

"Probably the one decent thing that man has done"

I appreciate all your input, Marian, but please take comments like this to JP. Thanks!

Reply by sueharke on 10/25/13 12:24am
Msg #489712

Re: "Probably the one decent thing that man has done"

I can see how notaries may be helpful on this subject, especially if he or she personally knows the person who has the issue.

I am not saying this is applicable for people the notary does not know and has no knowledge of other family issues.

I have a special friend of 30 years who has early stage alzheimers. I went to visit her is So. Cal recently and worked with her spouse to get a POA for financial and a health care directive for her. She was there when he created the form, as she is still competent to make decisions. I notarized both documents and asked that he get her to an attorney who specializes in senior issues.

The hardest part of all of this was trying to help her spouse understand the importance of getting her to create a will, trust, and more compliant CA POA and healthcare directive ASAP (and asking the attorney as to putting their house in a trust). I explained that if he does not do this, he will have to get legal conservancy for her and all the hassles that come with the conservancy.

My hope is that he got it done.

I will call and talk to my friend and enjoy talking to her as long as she is able to communicate. If she is not able to communicate, well I guess audio and video files will be used in the future. This is my ultimate gifts to her by being there for her after more than 30 years of friendship.

Luckily, I was not wearing my notary hat when I explained all this to her spouse or I might be accused of UPL by some people.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 10/25/13 12:54am
Msg #489713

Re: "Probably the one decent thing that man has done"

Yeah, that's the struggle with what this bill was. The intentions were honorable. That wasn't the issue at all. It was the requirements -- ones that would have required notaries, who for the most part have extremely limited contact with these people anyway, to make medical and legal decisions we have no business making and are actually outright currently forbidden to do. There was language in the bill that required notaries to determine if the person actually understood what they were signing, among other things. How is that even possible... especially if you're dealing with somebody who may have potential cognitive issues, especially ones that come and go such as with Alzheimer's and other related dementia. I can also tell you that some seniors *know* they are having problems and they learn how to act over the dementia to cover it up. They can become quite convincing, too. We aren't doctors or lawyers (for the most part) if doctors have trouble determining a senior's cognitive ability, how does a notary how to do it?

It's not our job to go over the content of a document with a signer and make sure they understand what they're signing. Oh, sure, some people think that might be our job..including some notaries... but it isn't. Our handbook tells us our jobs do not involve the content. We are required to be able to communicate with the signer to the point of understanding the nature of the document, but not the contents. That's why we can notarize documents in a foreign language. This bill would have totally changed all of that. I mean, it would have required extensive changes to notary law....really extensive. And, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have been able to get it done by jan 1 '14 n order to implement this if it became law. It probably would have been tabled for at least a year if not more as the Secretary of State went in to panic mode and completely revised the notary program and then put it through the process of getting laws changed.

We can already report suspected abuse anyway... so there was zero benefit to this bill. It would have done nothing but cause a lot of problems, headaches and really scared notaries stepping over boundaries out of fear of being fined.

Good intentions...really bad way of going about it.

Reply by leeinla on 10/25/13 10:44pm
Msg #489826

Re: "Probably the one decent thing that man has done"

My mom has alzheimer's and I am very familiar with the disease. Your friend needs to seek the advice of an Elder Law Attorney.

Regards,

Lee

Reply by Shoshana/AZ on 10/25/13 8:09am
Msg #489716

I can see her point

10 years ago before my mother passed away, my brother tried to get her over to an attorney's office to change her will to make him sole executor of her estate. (At the time they were in NY and I was in CA.) His reasoning was that He was in NY and I was in CA. She was on heavy meds at the time. Unfortunately for him, his plan failed because her condition worsened and she ended up in the hospital fighting for her life.

Reply by Notarysigner on 10/25/13 8:33am
Msg #489718

Someone else should have written the bill, maybe a

notary who knows we are not responsible for who shows up besides the principle (the Doc has to be filled out in advance except for the signature and we observe the signing).

>>... About two years before he died at age 83, he met to sign financial documents with family members. A notary public was there. The relatives were there. Everyone was there except for June Glasmeier, she said.

The document he signed stripped his wife of her power of attorney. >>>

Something is wrong here IMO because someone had to author the "financial documents" THAT IS THE CULPRIT. They should know Ca is a community property state and the paperwork should have said "as his sole property" or a single or unmarried man and ONE signature line.

If it was obvious to the notary he was lucid, the notary could have witnessed him signing an order for him to be beheaded. Otherwise, no can/should do.

I'm still for this law but I would have used some examples I have seen first hand (working with an elder abuse Attorney) that would highlight the correct reasons. That saying about representing your in court has a fool for an attorney is the reason this bill failed.