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January 5, 2011

Welcome to the Notary Zoo!

Welcome to the Notary Zoo!

After visiting the Notary Zoo for the first time, I noticed that things were a little “different” there. There were animals that didn’t exist in real life, and situations that were often opposite of what they normally were.

Before entering the zoo, right before the entrance, you see a huge venue carved into the granite floor. The venue says, “State of California, County of Los Angeles.” I’m glad the zoo helps me remember where I am because at that place, it’s easy to forget. Then, I went to pay my entrance fee. There was a huge sign saying that all customers needed to “personally appear” before the ticket seller with the seal of approval, who won the crowd’s approval after the seal juggled a ball on its nose. I needed to produce positive identification, asked how much it was to visit the zoo, and the clerk said it depended on how many signatures I wanted. I wanted admittance for just myself, which would be one signature at $10 per signature. The lady stamped my ticket and let me in.

As Trump might say, the zoo was “huge.”

There were walkways going every which direction. To the left I saw the Juratffs. I had never seen a Juratff before. I asked what I was supposed to do there, and the guard said that people swear at this animal all day long. So, I said, “I solemnly swear blah blah blah.” But, the juratff ignored me and kept eating leaves. At least he stuck his neck out for me. In the next exhibit down the corridor I saw a giant refrigerator with a sign saying, “How can you fit a juratff in a refrigerator?” Then a baby juratff waltzed in the refrigerator, stuck its neck out the hole in the top, and munched on some low hanging leaves.

Don’t feed the Notaries

Next, there was an area where some Notaries were hanging around. The visitors were led down an underground passage and then up some stairs into a huge cage that had a sign: “Don’t feed the Notaries.” The Notaries just went about their business and ignored the tourists’ constant taunts and whistling. The Notaries sat at desks, walked around, ID’d people and stamped pieces of paper. I didn’t understand the logic of this as they were notarizing other Notaries and not getting paid. Later on I learned that this was some sort of an asylum for people who were convinced that they were Notaries, but never passed the state Notary exam for reasons unknown. They were NOTaries.

The next exhibit had a Notary comedian. Not only was there an applause sign. There was an applause signer.

He started cracking jokes. “How do you define a loose acknowledgment? It’s an acknowledgement that attaches itself to different documents — on the first date before it even knows your first name — at least the first name on your ID.” Then our comedian friend made another joke about pastry. “I just found out that a Mexican wedding cake is exactly the same thing as a Russian tea cake. They are both two inches wide and made from shortbread. I guess one man’s tea is another man’s wedding!”

An exhibit for Notarial owls.
They just sat in the tree all day long saying, “Hoo — is the signer?” Next to the owls was the judge from Noternity court who said, “Who is the signer? Who is the Notary? We’ve examined the DNA evidence and handwriting analysis and you ARE the Notary!”

The aquarium was next on my list.
I went down a dark hallway into a pitch black room, turned a corner, and then I was in the Notary Aquarium. I saw a guy swimming in the tank in a three piece suit with a briefcase. I asked the guard why the sharks don’t eat him. The guard replied, “Professional courtesy — that guy’s an Attorney.” Then I saw another guy wearing a suit who just got his leg bitten off by another shark. Blood was filling the tank. I looked at the guard and he said, “That one’s a Mortgage Broker. He’s the one who asked people to backdate, and didn’t pay his Notaries on time.” It cost him a leg if not an arm. I journeyed into the next room in the aquarium and saw a bizarre looking fish. It looked like a hammerhead, but on closer inspection it was a stampfish. His head looked like a huge rectangular Notary stamp. I said to the guard, “It’s too bad there is no paperfish that the stampfish can stamp.” The guard said, “Where there is one around here, there will be a squid just waiting to donate some of his precious ink so the underwater Notarization could happen.” Then, lo and behold, a paperfish appeared from nowhere. Instead of stamping the paperfish, the stampfish took a bite out of it. I asked the guard what happened. The guard informed me that the stampfish was offended that the paperfish hadn’t been signed and dated — this was his way of voicing his underwater displeasure. Then I saw another stampfish who looked like he was high. The guard explained that he had a constant supply of really good sea-weed, and one or two bites of that will get you very high. On my way out of the aquarium there was a huge underwater building. The sign on the building said underwater county recorder. Inside the building there was a huge line of stamp fish. My only thought at this point is — I hope these stampfish have waterproof journals!

On my way toward the exit I saw some lions swearing under Oath. Lyin’ and swearing to uphold the truth – Isn’t that an oxymoron? Then I saw some sheep being sheepish about their loan signing. But they couldn’t pull their wool over my eyes. There was a huge section where there were boars that specialized in 400 page signings where you read every page. It nearly boared me to death. And finally a bobcat who swore under Oath that he was legally Robert Cat.

Finally, I went to the aviary.
That place is for the birds! I saw some birds signing a health directive so they could fight against avarian cancer. I tried to explain that it is o-varian cancer, but they claimed that there are certain types of cancer that only birds get in their old age. Then, an eagle swooped down to avoid one of the guards who was trying to ID him for the Patriot Act.

In any case. I enjoyed the zoo. It was fun. I was slightly disappointed that I couldn’t get a souvenir of a waterproof journal in the gift shop, but maybe next year.

.

You might also like:

Welcome to the Notary Casino
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15255

Scribbles: A Notary Comedy Club
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15258

Notary Aptitude Test
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15853

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November 29, 2010

12 Points On e-Notarizations

e-notarizations information

Each state has different standards for e-notarizations. Please remember that e-documents and e-signings are completely different from e-notarizations. Here are some points about e-notarizations that are interesting.

(1) To do e-notarizations you need a special authorization from your state, and not all states allow this. The rules are completely different for e-notarizations and the types of documents you can notarize are limited as well.

(2) LindaH in our forum stated on 1-05-10 that the NNA is no longer supporting the ENS program (Electronic Notary Signature). There were technical challenges offering that particular technological product. There are no unified standards for e-notarizations which was part of the problem.

(3) ENJOA is an electronic journal. e-Notarizations require the use of an electronic journal and can not be completed with a regular journal. e-signings use a regular journal by the way.

(4) BobbiCT claims that in Connecticut that multiple documents can serve as “originals”. He states that physical documents can be scanned and used as electronic documents that receive an e-notarization.

(5) Many states do not allow a recorded document to have an e-notarization. Recorded documents are often documents effecting real property which is too critical to risk security issues relateing to e-notarizations.

(6) Its common for states to set up e-notarization legislation years before the first e-notarization is completed and years before the first e-notary is appointed in their state. States are thinking ahead. The problem is there can be many bugs in the new systems that are in place which make e-notarizations potentially less secure than “brick and morter” notarizations.

(7) Biometrics can be used on e-signatures on e-notarizations to record the speed of the various strokes involved in a signature. This is one excellent way to deter fraud. Its easy to forge a signature, but no fraud would be able to figure out what the speed of each stroke of the signature would be for a particular individual. There are too many strokes involved.

(8) An e-journal is required for all e-notarization acts. To get an e-journal, you would need to set up an account with a company who provides an e-journal system. You would probably need a login and password to use your journal, and god forbid if the server went down.

(9) 123notary doesn’t know of any particular notaries who have done an actual e-notarization. It sounds like fun though.

(10) LindaH claims that many borrowers she had talked to would not be thrilled if they were asked to be involved in an e-notarization.

(11) LindaH claims that its the state governments that are not prepared to handle e-signatures.

(12) Perhaps private industry and title companies might be ready, but if the county recorders can’t handle e-notarizations, then they can’t be used for recorded documents such as deeds, etc.

You might also like:

e-signings vs. e-notarizations

Reverse Mortgages general information

Stories of notaries that fail and what they did wrong!

The pros and cons of eNotarizations

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November 23, 2010

New Laws for Notaries in Illinois

New laws for Notaries in Illinois 
(1) An Illinois notary public who notarizes a document of conveyance of qualifying residential real estate in Cook county will be required to create a Notarial Record and take a THUMBPRINT of the seller and provide for record keeping of the notary record to all responsible parties.
 
(2) Identification documents must be current / valid at the time of the notarial act and must be issued by a state or federal government agency and must have a picture of the person’s face, plus a signature of the individual.
 
(3) An Illinois notary public who is a principal, employee, or agent of a title insurance company, title insurance agent, financial institution or attorney must deliver the notarial record within 14 days to their employer who must keep the record for seven years.  (this is an unusual sounding rule)
 
(4) An Illinois notary public who is NOT an employee or agent of a title insurance company, title insurance agent, financial instritution, or attorney must submit the notarial record within 14 days to the Cook county recorder of deeds office. 
 
(5) The notarial record must be kept confidential and may only be disclosed by subpoena.  Further, the notarial record is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
 
(6)  Thumbprints.  An Illinois notary public shall require the signer of a document of conveyance, or sale of property (deeds effecting real property) to have their right thumb printed in the notary record (journal)
 
(7) The Illinois notary division gives a definition that residential real property means a building or buildings located in Cook County, IL that has one to four dwelling units or an individual residential condominium unit.
 
(8) An IL notary public may only perform notary acts if they live in the same county they were commissioned in– unless they reside in a state bordering Illinois and have a work address within that county.
 
  Sec. 3‑105. Authority. A notary public shall have authority to perform notarial acts throughout the State so long as the notary resides in the same county in which the notary was commissioned or, if the notary is a resident of a state bordering Illinois, so long as the notary’s principal place of work or principal place of business is in the same county in Illinois in which the notary was commissioned.

(9)  Moving causes your IL notary commission to be nullified
 
Sec. 4‑101. Changes causing commission to cease to be in effect. When any notary public legally changes his or her name or moves from the county in which he or she was commissioned or, if the notary public is a resident of a state bordering Illinois, no longer maintains a principal place of work or principal place of business in the same county in Illinois in which he or she was commissioned, the commission ceases to be in effect and should be returned to the Secretary of State. These individuals who desire to again become a notary public must file a new application, bond, and oath with the Secretary of State.

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September 7, 2010

Everything you need to know about journals

Everything you need to know about notary journals.
Not all states require a journal of official notary acts. However, it is wise for notaries to keep a journal, as it is a record of all notary acts that they have ever done. A notary journal is a bound and sequential book containing records of all notary acts done by a particular notary. If a notary completes all the entry of a particular journal, they can start a second journal.

What goes in a journal entry?
(1) The date and time of the notarization
(2) Type of notarization
(3) Name of the document and document date (if there is one ),
(4) Name and address of the signer
(5) Type of identification ( personally known to the notary, credible witnesses, or ID document )
(6) State/Country, Serial #, and expiration date of the ID.
(7) Additional notes
(8) Signature of the signer
(9) Thumbprint of the signer
(10) Notary fee charged (if any)

The additional notes section is a part of the journal not understood by many notaries.
If credible witnesses are used, their signatures and ID’s should be recorded in the additional notes section.
If any unusual situations arise during the notarization, or there is anything unusual about the signer or the venue, that should be documented in the additional notes section. If travel fees are charged, that too can be documented in the additional notes section.

Journal thumbprints
Not all states require journal thumbprints. However, documents effecting real estate or large amounts of money should have a journal thumbprint accompany their notarization. A thumbprint is the only absolute way to identify a signer if fraud is suspected. ID cards and signatures can be forged, but a person’s thumbprint is unique to that individual. If a notarization is ever investigated due to suspicion as to the identity of the signer, a thumbprint can end the investigation cold in its tracks and possibly save the notary from having to appear in court.

Lock and key
The notary must keep their journal under lock and key. Bosses, co-workers, family members, and strangers alike are not allowed to inspect the notary journal without the presence of the notary. They are not allowed to do notarizations with the notary’s seal and journal under any circumstances.

Lost, stolen, or damaged journals
If your journal gets lost, stolen or damaged, contact your state’s notary division immediately and let them know what happened in writing.

What do you do with your journal when your commission is over?
If you don’t renew your commission, ask your state notary division what to do with your journal. It is most likely that they will need to be submitted to your county recorder’s office.

Where do I purchase a journal?
Notary journals can be purchased from the NNA, or from many other vendors on the internet. Some local office supply stores might have journals too, although that is not a predictable place to buy journals unless you are sure they have them.

How many journal entries do I create?
If one signer signs one document, create one journal entry. If one signer signs two notarized documents, that would necessitate two journal entries. If three signers each sign two notarized documents, thats six journal entries, all of which need to be signed by the corresponding signer.

Where do I keep my journal when I’m not using it?
Keep it under lock and key. You can have a notary carry all bag with a mini-lock, or keep it locked in a desk drawer to which only you have the key. Nobody else should ever be able to access your journal

What if someone has an inquiry about a particular journal entry?
Just ask them what the date of the notarization was and the name of the signer, and look it up in your journal. If you have several journals in your archives, you may have to go through your archives. You can make a copy of the journal entry and send it to the person making the inquiry, but hide information pertaining to notarizations of other individuals on that same page.

Tweets:
(1) A journal entry must include: time & date, type of notarization, doc name, name & address of signer…
(2) Journals must be kept under lock & key and returned to the county clerk at the end of your commission.
(3) Learn the finer points of journal entries: where credible witnesses sign, thumbprints & notes.
(4) Everything you need to know about journals, but were afraid to ask.

You might also like:

Index of posts about Notary journals
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20272

How do I fill out a Notary Journal entry?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1725

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