Notaries

Notaries Public are "commissioned" (i.e., licensed) by the Secretary of State [to perform notarial acts].

Notarial functions include:

• administering oaths and affirmations;
• taking affidavits and depositions;
• receiving and certifying acknowledgments or proof of such written instruments as deeds, mortgages and powers of attorney; and; demanding acceptance or payment of foreign and inland bills of exchange, promissory notes and obligations in writing, and protesting the same for non-payment

The above information appears courtesy of the New York State Department of State website.

In addition to “official” acts authorized under law, a notary public is customarily considered to be a trusted member of society, and sometimes may sign and/or witness the signing of documents as a non-notarial act.

Some examples of common non-notarial acts would be to sign and/or stamp the back of a photograph for a foreign passport application, examine identifications documents for employment and other purposes as well as other government and non-governmental forms. While non-notarial acts do not carry the validity of a notarized act, they can be useful for various private or public purposes, as the signature of a notary public is considered by many to convey trust.

Affidavits (Jurat) & Acknowledgement

The signing of affidavits and acknowledgements are the most common notarial acts.

Living Wills

Living Wills are legal documents, detailing the signer’s wishes regarding prolonging medical treatments. A living will can also be referred to as a health care directive, advance directive, or a physician’s directive.

Affidavits

An affidavit is a document, in which an individual makes a statement under oath or affirms under penalty of perjury that its content is true. The affidavit MUST be signed in the presence of the notary. The affidavit must have the jurat (Latin for oath) printed on it. Otherwise, the notary will attach a separate jurat certificate to the document.

Acknowledgement

An acknowledgement is a notarial act in which the signer of a document recognizes, understands and is aware of the consequences of executing the document by signing it. This act also indicates that the document has been signed under the individual’s own free will and that he/she agrees to the terms and conditions of the document.

Acknowledgements are used for deeds, power of attorneys, etc.

Power of Attorney

Powers of Attorney authorize one party to make legal decisions on behalf of another party. An agent has the power to do the following:

• Act as a corporate officer
• Make financial decisions such as writing checks and withdrawing money from the bank
• or sell real estate
• Pursue legal action and insurance claims on your behalf.

A Power of Attorney is only valid if you present yourself in person to a notary public and sign the document in front of him/her.

A notary public can not draft or help you select a Power of Attorney or any other legal document. Notary NY strongly urges you to seek the advise of a lawyer. Please visit the New York State Bar Association website

Attested Copy

In some states, notary publics do not have the capacity to certify copies. Only the pubic official, who originally issued the document, can issue a certified copy. With an attested copy, which is similar to a certified copy, the document custodian, not the notary, attests to the copy of the document.

In New York, notaries do not have the legal authority to certify copies. However, attested copies (or copies declaration by document custodian) are widely accepted in place of a “certified copy.”

We cannot perform a copy declaration by document custodian if the document is a vital record or a recordable document. Only the appropriate public records custodian can issue copies of these documents. However, we may be able to retrieve such documents on your behalf. Please call us for more information.

Last Will and Testament and Living Trust

Last wills and testaments and living trusts are sensitive and complex legal documents. Depending on the state laws, some last wills may require notarization, while notarizing others may invalidate them.

In New York, the will maker (testator or testatrix) signs in front of at least two component witness. Often the witnesses make an affidavit in front of a notary public that they have witnessed the Will being signed by the testator or testatrix. A notary public can not witness his or her own signature as an attesting witness. According to lawinfo.com a witness should be “disinterested” and “not a beneficiary of the Will.” We strongly urge that anyone wishing to have a Will execution where we will be notarizing the affidavit of the witnesses have their lawyer accompany them, or at the very least, have a letter of instruction from their attorney on how the Will should be executed. It is also a good idea to make sure your lawyer is available to answer any questions by telephone about the Will or its execution, as a notary public can not provide any legal advice.

Services such as “Legal Zoom” are not a substitute for legal advise. Legalzoom.com own website say “We are not a law firm or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. We cannot provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies.” While we provide notary services to the public, we only preform statutory notary public services at a Will execution in the absence of a lawyer presence or letter of instruction with great reluctance.

Notary New York is not a law firm and cannot give legal advice, nor can we help you prepare any documents. Only an attorney can give legal advice.

Legalzoom® is a trademark of LegalZoom.com, Inc., who is independent of Notary New York.

Notary NY adheres to all New York laws governing the practice and procedures for Notary Publics. These procedures vary from those of other states and countries.

• The document signer must physically and personally appear before the Notary at the time of notarization - not before, not after. A telephone call from the signer or the notary's familiarity with a signature is not substitute for a personal appearance. A webcam/Skype (or any other similar form of technology) appearance is not physically appearing before the Notary.
• Documents should not be signed before appearing before the Notary.
• The Notary identifies the signer through either (1) current government-issued ID card with photograph, signature, and physical description (such as a driver’s license or passport), or (2) personal knowledge of the signer based on knowing the person for an extended period with direct interaction and contact. A photocopy or picture (printed or digital) of the ID is not acceptable. If the image or details of the physical description on the ID card do not establish the identity of the signer to the satisfaction of the notary public, the ID card can not be used. Expired ID cards can only be used under extenuating circumstances, and an ID card can be considered unsatisfactory by the notary public solely on the basis of the ID card being expired.

• The Notary should not be an interested party to any document that they notarize. Notary publics should be independent, impartial, and disinterested to the benefits and obligations in any transaction they notarize. While not strictly prohibited, a Notary should avoid performing any official acts when the Notary’s immediate relative is a party. A Notary must not notarize any document, which in any way benefits the Notary.
• Witnesses to any document that is notarized or signed by a person intended to be a legal document should also not be an interested party. Witness should be independent, impartial, and disinterested in any transaction they witness. The signer of a document, notarized or not should not be the signer(s) themselves. The witness(s) should not gain any material benefit from the document.
• Best practices call on the Notary to make a record of each notarization and require the document signer to affix their signature in an official journal of notary acts.

• Although some jurisdictions outside of New York allow a Notary to make certified copies of many documents, a similar, but not equal act authorized in New York is called an attested copy (Copy Declaration by Document Custodian). In New York, the signer or document custodian, not the Notary, attests to the copy of the document. As New York is a large and well known State, attested copies are often accepted both domestically and internationally where the requesting party specified a “certified copy.” Copy declaration from a document custodian of a birth certificate or other vital record, or a recordable document, such as a deed cannot be authenticated by the county clerk, making such copies inadequate for most purposes. Copies of vital records documents should be issued only by the appropriate public records custodian, not by the Notary or the would-be signer of a copy certification by document custodian.
• Notary New York can provide assistance in obtaining certified copies of vital records either directly from the appropriate public records custodian or through, Vital Chek® our preferred vital records services processor.

VitalCheck® is a LexisNexis® Company, who is independent of Notary New York.