Linda de Bree
Rainmaker_large
6,065 Points
Name
Linda de Bree
Company
Linda de Bree, Notary Public
E-mail
Contact Linda de Bree (Linda de Bree, Notary Public)
Website
http://www.staffordnotary.com
Cell Phone
(540) 842-1156
Fax
(815) 717-9680
Description
Mobile Notary Public serving the Stafford, Fredericksburg, and surrounding areas including northern VA. I specialize in in-home loan signings, but am also available for all types of notarial needs.

About Me:

I am a full time Notary Public commissioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia.  I specialize in loan signings, but am available for any type of notarial needs you may have.   I am mobile, willing to travel to your office or client location.  I'm also available for notarial services with investment groups and commercial real estate attorneys.

I maintain memberships with the premier Notary organizations, and am the founder of the Virginia Notary Network.  I network with many competent Notaries throughout Virginia, which allows me to refer to other quality notaries when I am unavailable. 

References available upon request.

What is a Notary Public?

A Notary Public is an individual, commissioned by the state, who serves as an impartial witness to the transaction and certifies that certain formalities (as required by state law) were observed. 

A legitimate notarization act includes (but is not limited to):

  • The document signer personally appears before the notary
  • The signer is properly identified by the notary as per state laws
  • The correct venue and date of the notarization are recorded in the notary certificate, which serves as a record of the transaction
  • The notary signs the notarial certificate (some states, but not all, require a notary stamp or seal to be applied)

It is imperative that individuals maintain identification in their correct and complete legal name.  A notary cannot certify that Ann E. Smith is Ann Elaine Smith if her identification does not display her middle name.  This is also a common situation when a man has a suffix of "Jr." or "II" or "III" appearing after his name on the document, but the suffix is not reflected on his identification. Taking the signer's word for it is not an acceptable way to properly identify an individual, and negates the purpose of requiring a notarization in the first place.  A notary is duty bound to refuse to notarize if identity of the signer cannot be positively established.

The Function of a Notary Public

A Notary Public is an individual commissioned by the state who acts as an official, unbiased witness to the identity and signature of the person who comes before the notary for a specific purpose.  Notaries do not notarize documents - they notarize the signatures on documents.  As such, notaries are often the last link in a document chain and therefore serve a very important role by authenticating the signatures of the document signers. 

Often times the signer presents the notary with identification that does not exactly match the name on the documents.  The document might list the full middle name, when the identification does not.  Unless the document signer is personally known to the notary, the notary has no way of positively identifying the person sitting before him or her.  For example, if John Anthony Smith appears on the document, but the signer's ID says John A. Smith, the notary has no way to know if the signer is John Anthony Smith, John Albert Smith, John Alan Smith, and so on.  Most people with a minor discrepancy in their identification are likely exactly who they say they are.  However, there are people who commit fraud and pretend to be other people, and the notary cannot automatically know which people are the dishonest ones.  The notary must exercise a high degree of care when identifying signers, and must not allow themselves to be coerced into notarizing when positive identity has not been established.