Notarization is the process of authenticating a document by a notary public, a public officer who witnesses the signing of a document and verifies the identity of the signer. Notarization is often required for legal or financial transactions, and can help prevent fraud by providing an independent third-party verification of the authenticity of the document.

There are many types of documents that are commonly notarized, including:

Real estate documents: When buying or selling a property, it is common for documents such as deeds, mortgages, and titles to be notarized. This helps to ensure that the transaction is legally valid and can help prevent disputes over ownership of the property.

Financial documents: Financial documents such as loans, contracts, and power of attorney documents are often notarized to protect the interests of all parties involved. For example, a mortgage document may be notarized to confirm that the borrower has signed the document willingly and understands the terms of the loan.

Legal documents: Many legal documents, such as trusts, affidavits, and health care directives require notarization to be legally binding. This helps to prevent fraud and ensures that the document was signed willingly and with proper understanding of the terms.

Travel documents: Some travel documents, such as passport and visa requests, may require notarization to confirm the identity of the applicant and prevent fraud.

Business documents: Business documents, such as contracts and agreements, may be notarized to protect the interests of all parties involved and ensure that the terms of the document are legally binding.

In general, any document that requires legal or financial transactions or that involves the transfer of money or property may be notarized. It is important to consult with a legal professional or the appropriate government agency to determine if a document needs to be notarized and how to properly notarize it.

It’s spring break and you are taking your children to Mexico to visit the Aztec Ruins in Mexico City. Dad is at work in his office, as usual. You and the kids wait an hour to get through customs at the airport only to be told you can’t enter Mexico. You didn’t bring the necessary documents.

What should have you brought with you:
• Passport for yourself. If no passport, then a current driver’s license and certified copy of your birth certificate.
• Passports for your kids if they have them. If not, then state-issued identification cards or driver’s licenses. Additionally, certified copies of their birth certificates to show nationality.
• A letter written by your husband telling border control that you have his permission to take the children out of the county without him. This letter must be notarized.

These documents will be necessary to get back into the US as well.

These rules apply to grandparents and friends of children, too. Grandparents would have to get a notarized letter signed by both parents. If you take someone else’s child along with your children, you just get a notarized letter signed by both of the child’s parents. If the parents are divorced, the non-accompanying legal parent or guardian must sign.

For example: Underage daughter lives with Mom who has divorced the child’s father. mom and daughter want to go to Mexico with Mom’s new husband. The original father did not sign away parental rights to the new husband nor did the new husband legally adopt the child. Mom’s ex-husband would have to provide a notarized letter of permission for his daughter to leave the US without him.

You can get a certified copy of your child’s birth certificate by calling the courthouse of your birth county. They will direct you to the proper office. The courthouse fee is usually just twenty dollars or so.

To find a mobile notary in you area, do an internet search with the words “mobile notary services” and the names of your city and state.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact Matt Miller, owner of Matt Miller Mobile Notary
(415) 448-7343 or matt@mmmobilenotary.net
Or visit www.mmmobilenotary.net

….documents. Training your brain to write the correct date when a new year begins is always a hassle. This year, however, is particularly challenging. You must be diligent because writing the 2-digit form of the year “2020” on a document could potentially leave you vulnerable to changed dates.

For most people in recent years when writing out dates they typically shorten the year, such as abbreviating “December 6, 2019” as “12-6-19.” This month many regulatory agencies have pointed out that if the year 2020 is shortened to just “20” when dating a document, a nefarious individual could write in additional numbers later to alter the date of execution. For example, the date “1-28-20” could be:

• Backdated by adding the number 17 at the end, changing the date to “1-28-2017”

• Post-dated by adding a “21” at the end, changing the date to “1-28-2021”

To avoid potential issues, the best practice in the new decade is to write out the full year as “2020” when signing most documents or dating any other important records.