FAQs
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
My advice for a customer looking to hire a Professional like myself is to make sure you are dealing with someone knowledgeable and experienced. Make sure the person you are considering takes their job seriously and an individual not working at a convenience store doing notarizations as a job requirement. Sorry to say, they will notarize about anything, even if it should not be notarized (such as most wills). (See my answer to the question What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?) If you someday need to prove your documents in court, who would you rather have coming to court to attest to the authenticity of your signature? Me, who will probably actually remember you and has a note in the Journal as to what took place, or someone else? If your document is important enough to get notarized you should at least get a professional who takes their job seriously to notarize it.
- What questions should customers think through before talking to professionals about their project?
What I wish people understood about my profession is that I am a professional. Often it seems clients do not view notaries as anyone other than someone who checks your ID, watches you sign a paper and stamps it. This is true, but goes much deeper. Notaries invest quite a bit financially and time-wise for classes and training, background checks by the FBI and Department of Justice, pass a test administered by the Secretary of State and take an oath of office with the County Clerk. We are required to memorize a huge amount of material and know it readily. Those of us who take it seriously have furthered our education and will watch out for you too. Notaries at the corner store will probably notarize your Will for you. But, did you know notarizing a Will in the state of California possibly could nullify it? Do seek the advice of an attorney before notarizing a Will. Someone not taking the Notary profession seriously could possibly nullify your Will. Yikes! See what I mean? Seek out a Professional who does more than just watch you sign and slaps a stamp on your paper.