Notaries Cannot Prepare Legal Documents
I recently got a call from a man who asked me if I could prepare an affidavit for him. He was told by someone at the “courthouse” that the document he needed could be created by a Notary. What? I had to tell him it wasn’t true, and told him to contact a Lawyer. This isn’t the first time someone has asked me to create some sort of document for them, and my answer is always the same as the one above.
Notaries Who Are Not Lawyers
Unless a Notary is licensed to practice law, he or she cannot prepare legal documents of any kind. In fact, the National Notary Association goes even further to say “Unless you are licensed to practice law, you may not assist in drafting, preparing, completing or explaining a document or transaction.”
Along those lines, I’ve had customers ask me if a particular document is the right one for their situation. And again, I have to tell them that I’m not qualified or even legally allowed to advise them regarding legal documents and I refer them to a Lawyer.
I Can’t Speak For Everyone
In contrast, I feel I should say, without naming anyone, that I’ve been in this type of situation when a non-Attorney — even non-Notary — associate of mine felt compelled to briefly explain a document to a customer and even assured them that it was the appropriate one for their circumstances. It was an awkward situation, and I restated to the customer that neither of us could give legal advice about their document, or any other, and I gave them the name of a Lawyer I know.
So, if someone tells you to contact a Notary about creating a legal document for you, don’t believe them. And if this someone is an employee of a State or County office, I would suggest that you report them to their supervisor so that the giving of misinformation stops.
To have your document, that was prepared by a Lawyer, notarized at your location, call or text us at (813) 591-0820.
I am not an attorney. The information above is not legal advice and should not be taken as such.
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