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.
Comments (1)Subscribe to CommentsComment