   | Welcome to the Notary Talk General Discussion Forum. Before posting, please read the  |
| You are replying to this message: | | |
Posted by  JanetK_CA on 11/25/19 9:27pm
Agree. It's easy to be fooled. And even if a person is having a fully lucid moment, who knows if they'll remember what they did during the next lucid moment? Once someone mentions Alzheimers, it raises all kinds of red flags and isn't something I want to be involved with. So while I may not have the authority to question the validity of a POA that's already been executed, I absolutely have the right to refuse to notarize for someone whose lucidity I have doubts about.
I once ran into a situation like that with an elderly woman who was in an independent living facility for seniors. When I got there to notarize something for her, she looked to be very independent. She was nicely dressed and made up, no sign of a cane or walker, despite her very advanced years. She greeted me warmly and seemed very lucid. Also present was her attorney, who had scheduled the appointment with me.
Fortunately, we chit-chatted a bit before we got down to business. She asked a question of one of us and was given an answer. I thought all was well - until I heard her repeat the same question a few short moments later. When she repeated the same question the third time, after being told the answer twice, I was done. That attorney was VERY unhappy with me, so not only did I never hear from him again, I never got paid for the trip (fortunately very close by).
He claimed that he'd been looking after her affairs for her for a very long time so it should be no problem. If he was on the level, you'd think he would understand why I was not comfortable notarizing for her and that I couldn't take his word that she was OK with whatever was in the document. In hindsight, I also wondered why he hadn't had a POA previously executed way before then, so if she legitimately wanted him handling her affairs, he could have signed on her behalf.
I'm just glad that I've made it a habit to have a conversation with a signer before notarizing their signature on anything!
|
|
