I must sound like the most clueless person in the world when it comes to giving advice about a Last Will & Testament.  I have a good reason:

I'm a Colorado notary -- not an attorney. 

A notary may not give advice about a Last Will & Testament.  Or any kind of legal advice, for any kind of document.  That is, not unless they want to be prosecuted for engaging in unauthorized practice of law, which is a very serious offense.

It's becoming very common for a person to prepare their own Last Will and Testament.  They save themselves hundreds of dollars by not going to an attorney.  They simply download a form from the internet, usually for less than $20, and fill it out.  Then take it to a notary.  And while they're with the notary, they ask the notary if they filled it out correctly, what to do with it once it's notarized, ... and a lot of other questions.  It happens almost every time I notarize a Last Will and Testament that a person prepared themselves.

Many notaries refuse to notarize a Last Will & Testament out of fear of doing something wrong.

But a notary notarizes signatures -- not documents. 

A notary makes no claims about the validity or accuracy of a document. Notarizing a Last Will & Testament doesn't necessarily make it "legal". A notary is not a cheap substitute for an attorney.   If a person asks me if they did everything correctly, I don't hesitate to tell them that I'm not an attorney, and I cannot offer any kind of advice.

So what good is a notary if they can't offer advice about a Last Will & Testament?

Notaries don't give advice about documents.  Notaries notarize signatures.

For more information, see the 'Last Will & Testament' section on my website.

Of all the military bases in the Colorado Springs area, Fort Carson army base  is the most difficult to get onto.

Difficult ... but not impossible.

So if you're a notary signing agent / mobile notary, you don't need the skills of an Ethan Hunt or Jason Bourne in order to get past the guards. 

You just need a little patience.

The gate that I normally use is Gate 3.

If you're driving west on Academy Boulevard, it's the 'Fort Carson - Westmeadow Drive exit'.  Then you'll see this sign.  There's a traffic light at which you'll make a left turn.

Expect to be delayed for a few minutes while the security guards inspect your vehicle.  Usually the guard will have me open the hood, trunk, glove box, and all four doors. Have your driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance available to present it to them.  Even though I state the nature of my business, I also include my business card. 

The guards are very serious about these inspections, and they do a thorough job.  They are also very courteous and polite.  I'm always tempted to let them know that I was an enlisted man -- not an officer -- while I was in the army, so there's no need to call me 'Sir'.

Once I'm on the base, I'm able to go just about anywhere. Finding my way around is not difficult. Most of the streets on Fort Carson can be found using MapQuest, and GPS.  I have done notarizations in the housing area, and I did a closing in one of the barracks. 

There is a Burger King on Prussman Boulevard and Specker Avenue, if the soldier wants to meet there. 

Ironically, McDonald Street is one block north of Prussman, although there is no McDonald's restaurant there ... yet.

When I first became a notary signing agent, I wasn't sure if I would be able to perform notary services on Fort Carson.  But getting onto the base is not a problem once you know the routine.

I always thought that Calhan, Colorado is located in El Paso county.

It is. But it's also located in Elbert county.  That's what I discovered last week when I was assigned to do a closing in Calhan.

One of the first things I do when I get a closing assignment is find out where the borrowers are located.  I thought it was unusual that the trip would take me more than an hour and a half, according to Mapquest. 

Just where in Calhan is this?  Where in Colorado is this?  It was when I looked at the map view that I saw that it was in Elbert county.  Is this some kind of mistake?  Is that really Calhan?

After locating the borrowers on the map, I called them to confirm the appointment.

Sure enough, they are in Elbert county.

It was a pleasurable closing experience.  I actually like the long drives out into the rural areas of Colorado.  There is hardly any traffic.  Just miles and miles of open scenery.  You could probably stop in the middle of the road and have a picnic if you wanted to. 

Having GPS really came in handy.  There  were a lot of turns, and the road signs aren't easy to see.

Just in case the title company doubted that the closing was actually in Elbert county, and not El Paso county, I got photographic evidence:

I notarized a lease agreement a few weeks ago. I made an entry of it in my notary journal and asked the signers to sign it.

The person managing the transaction asked me if it was necessary to keep a journal.  I told him that Colorado law requires all notaries to keep a journal of notary acts that affect the title of real property. (CRS 12-55-111).  However I keep a journal of all notarizations, regardless of what they pertain to.

The law has been amended to read that every Colorado notary will be required to keep a journal of every notarial act, and will go into effect July 1, 2009.

There are some other changes to the law.  You can read about it at the Colorado Secretary of State website.

I just received a call from a signing service to do a loan modification.

I asked the caller to give me the name of the company handling the loan modification, and if I needed to collect any money.  The caller gave me the name of the company, and said that I would be collecting a cashiers check.

I told the caller that I can't do it.

That's my criteria: if I have to collect money from the homeowner -- NO.

I do loan modification signings as part of the work that I do as a notary signing agent.  I did one a couple of weeks ago.  It was through a well-established and reputable title company, and the loan modification agreement was coming from the borrower's lender.  There was no money to collect.

But I will decline any request to do a loan modification from a company that stipulates that the borrower has to pay an upfront fee.

One of the primary tools of a notary signing agent is a laser printer (and lots of paper).  It's how we get the loan documents printed for closings.  The method of delivering the documents may vary.  Most of the time they are sent to us as email attachments.  Sometimes we have to log in to a secure website to download them. 

Regardless of how we receive the documents, the end result is the same:

paper

The closing documents must be printed to paper so that the borrowers can sign them.

Notary signing agents didn't always require a laser printer to get the job done.  There was a time when the documents were sent to the notary signing agent via overnight delivery (i.e. FedEx, UPS).  Or they would be sent directly to the borrower.

The emergence of e-docs

Then came the shift to requiring the notary signing agent to print the loan documents themselves.  If notary signing agents wanted to continue to do loan closings, they would need to invest in a laser printer.  And they needed to learn how to print the documents. 

The name that is associated with this process of delivering documents is 'e-docs' (or 'edocs') -- short for 'electronic documents'.  Instead of receiving a package of paper documents, the notary signing agent receives the loan documents in digital format.

Regardless of whether the documents are sent via overnight delivery or sent as e-docs, the end result remains the same: paper.  Lots and lots of paper.

Electronic documents take on a new meaning

There is a shift occuring that is revolutionizing the way notary signing agents conduct remote closings. Notary signing agents still need laser printers to print documents.  But we are now being asked if we have a laptop computer and wireless modem.  The reason: loan closings are going paperless. And the way that we access the loan documents will be via the internet.

Instead of signing paper documents with an ink signature, borrowers view the documents on a computer screen and sign them with an electronic signature.

'Sign here.' is being replaced with 'Click here.'

Once again, notary signing agents find themselves at a crossroad.  At first they needed to invest in a laser printer.  Now they will need to invest in a new technology -- one that will enable them to take advantage of this new way of doing loan closings.

This morning I came across the article: FHA Preparing Electronic Loan Specifications, Bank Technology News, by Anthony Garritano, April 8, 2009

From the article:

"We know we need to work in a paperless environment, ... Our goal is to receive all mortgage documents electronically and update FHA systems with all required information so that manual input of information by lenders is not required." - Jo Ann Kuczma, director of the home mortgage insurance division at FHA

The writing is on the wall -- in digital format. 

Notary signing agents are going to receive more and more requests to do eSignings.  This doesn't mean that we can toss out our laser printers which have served us well for so many years to do e-docs.  But there is a new type of 'e-docs' on the horizon, and we have to place ourselves in a position to take advantage of this new way of doing loan closings.

For more information, see the eSigning section on my website.

A notary signing agent asked a question on a message board this morning about Power of Attorney notarizations, and was chastised by several other notary signing agents for asking the question.

They felt that the notary signing agent should have been able to answer the question on his or her own.  And they are right.

Notary laws vary from state to state.  So there is no point in a notary from one state asking a notary in a different state how to do a notarization properly.  It really depends on the notary's state laws.

Another problem with the question is that, there are two things to consider when a signer is signing with Power of Attorney.  The lender will give specific instructions in the closing instructions as to how they want the signer to sign.  For example:

So not only does the notary signing agent want to check their state notary laws, they also want to find out what the lender requirements are for Power of Attorney.

For Colorado notaries, Power of Attorney acknowledgement forms are covered in CRS 12-55-208 (1)(d). Short forms of acknowledgement.

12-55-208 (1)(d) For an individual acting as principal by an attorney in fact.

For example:

State of Colorado
County of El Paso

The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this April 30, 2009 by Jane E. Borrower as attorney in fact on behalf of John E. Borrower.

______________________
(Sal E. Notary)

There are also pre-printed acknowledgement forms that are acceptable.  This is a scaled-down sample of an Attorney in Fact Acknowledgement:

There is a section at the bottom for the notary to write in the details about the document, and to get a thumbprint from the signer.

For the majority of the closings that I do there is a 3-day right to rescind.  Most borrowers welcome this opportunity to have a chance to review the documents, get answers to questions, resolve any problems, ... etc.

However, not all borrowers want to wait 3 days.

I hear it often. 'I've come this far. I have no intention of canceling.' or, 'With this interest rate, there's no way I'm going to cancel.' Etc.

That's not for me to decide. I'm 'just a notary'.  What I would tell the borrower is that they should contact their loan officer regardng any questions or concerns that they have about their loan.

What the borrower may find out is that, there are closing instructions from the lender which state:

In that case, ... just relax. It's only 3 days.

Whenever I get a request to do a closing in Florissant, Colorado, I think of that saying: 'It's not just a job. It's an adventure.'

For starters, Florissant, Colorado isn't actually a city.  You won't find paved streets with traffic lights.  There are no neighborhoods with rows of houses and kids playing on the sidewalks, or people walking their dogs.

No. Florissant isn't a city.  It's wilderness.  Instead of streets, avenues, and boulevards, you have county roads.  And they aren't laid out in a grid.  They twist and wind.  As you may have guessed, not all of the roads are asphalt. They're mostly dirt roads.

And Florissant isn't the kind of place where you want to have car troubles.  There are no gas stations every mile.  You might consider calling AAA, if you're able to  get a call through to them.  There are many areas where there is no cell phone coverage.  You're on your own.

I did a closing a couple of weeks ago in Florissant.  For that closing I took CR1 (County Road 1). 

There is another road -- Lower Twin Rocks Road (CR 42). 

It intersects with CR1 and provides a bit of shortcut if you're driving from Colorado Springs. That's the road I took to get to the closing I had yesterday.  Both roads are paved and in pretty good condition.

It's a good idea to have a GPS.  I used to shun the devices, thinking that I could find any location with a map.  But now I can't imagine owning a car without one.  And I can't imagine trying to find my way through Florissant at night without a GPS.

It's a beautiful area of Colorado with a lot of spectacular scenery.  I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I can say that I know my way around Florissant like I do Colorado Springs.  But I've reached a point where I feel comfortable accepting an assignment to do a closing there.

I got a call yesterday from someone in Colorado Springs in need of a mobile notary to notarize a Lease Agreement.  When I arrived I asked to see the notary certificate on the document. 

Instead of the usual notarial wording, all it had was the word 'NOTARY'.

Apparently this was the place where the notary was supposed to do whatever it is that notaries do. 

The problem with this is that, notaries may not notarize a document unless it contains a notary certificate.  And a notary may not choose what type of notary certificate to add to a document.  This is considered the unauthorized practice of law (UPL).

Rather than go through a lengthy discourse on notary law, I told the person that they would have to choose what type of notary certificate to add to the document.  I took out an acknowledgement and a jurat from my briefcase.  They recognized the wording on the acknowledgement and wanted that.  So I used an acknowledgement.

There were two ways to add the notary certificate (notary wording). 

I could have attached a loose certificate,

or used an acknowledgement stamp and stamped the wording on the document.  Since the document had enough room on it, I used an acknowledgement stamp.

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

This is a problem that I face often.  Signers don't understand the role of a notary, and don't realize that notaries may not notarize a document unless it has a notary certificate.  And if it doesn't have a notary certificate, the signer has to give the notary instructions as to how it should be notarized.  It isn't enough to say, 'Notarize it.'

If you have a hand-written letter, or any kind of document that does not contain notarial wording, see the section on my website, Acknowledgement or Jurat?, to determine what type of notarization you want the notary to perform.  The instructions must come from you, the signer.  The notary may not make that decision for you.