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-> Interesting Discussions
amother
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 Sun, Sep 07 2014, 6:47 pm
I notarized a Will today. I am not 100% sure the person was of sound mind. She knew who she was and who her son was. She sometimes spaced out during my questions.
Can I assume she was of sound mind?
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zaq
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Sun, Sep 07 2014, 7:03 pm
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Are you sure she "spaced out"? Maybe she's hard of hearing and didn't hear your questions?
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amother
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Sun, Sep 07 2014, 7:25 pm
| zaq wrote: | | Are you sure she "spaced out"? Maybe she's hard of hearing and didn't hear your questions? |
Possibly. Thanks. You made me feel much better. If the State calls me to Court, I can say that she was hard of hearing and it was not proven to me that she was not of sound mind.
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Frumdoc
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Sun, Sep 07 2014, 7:54 pm
Isn't it your responsibility to check her capacity and understanding before notarising that you are confident she knew exactly what she was doing when signing her will?
Or are you just witnessing her signature and whether or not she understood what she is doing is irrelevant?
I would be very careful to clarify what I am countersigning and what that means before I do it, the courts will not be very impressed if you sign a legal document and then claim ignorance as to what you were witnessing or acting as a signatory for.
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amother
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Sun, Sep 07 2014, 11:59 pm
| Frumdoc wrote: | Isn't it your responsibility to check her capacity and understanding before notarising that you are confident she knew exactly what she was doing when signing her will?
Or are you just witnessing her signature and whether or not she understood what she is doing is irrelevant?
I would be very careful to clarify what I am countersigning and what that means before I do it, the courts will not be very impressed if you sign a legal document and then claim ignorance as to what you were witnessing or acting as a signatory for. |
When I trained to be a notary, I was never told I had to interview the person whose signature I was notarizing.
Likewise, I have had documents notarized and the notaries never interviewed me.
But I don't know what the law is.
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amother
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Mon, Sep 08 2014, 6:21 pm
| amother wrote: |
But I don't know what the law is. |
Don't you think it's past time you learned?
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Frumdoc
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Mon, Sep 08 2014, 7:38 pm
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If you're acting as a notary then yes, I would consider it your legal responsibility to know the relevant laws and act on them.
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imasoftov
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Tue, Sep 09 2014, 8:32 am
| Frumdoc wrote: | | If you're acting as a notary then yes, I would consider it your legal responsibility to know the relevant laws and act on them. |
Agree. I would also hope they kept the copy of the rules from when they studied for the notary exam, and that if they lost it, they would get a new copy.
If the OP lives in New York (as most people who don't specify their location seem to), the rules are at http://www.dos.ny.gov/licensin.....Y.pdf and if she lives somewhere else, googling for notary rules and wherever they are will probably find the rules that apply there.
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