When you confirm a signing, assuming that you actually take the time to do so, you can ask all types of questions. My suggestion is to have a standardized list of things you need to ask about. However, you might want to arrange your list in order of what is the most critical to ask about.

I asked one lady if she thought it was more important to ask about the signer’s ID or Covid. She though Covid-19 as she had had four clients in the last 300 signings who previously had Covid a few weeks ago although they tested negative. So, 1.25% of her clients were an ambiguous risk of Covid19 yet she did not consider how many people were a risk of having unacceptable ID.

In my experience, roughly 5% of people have an ID that doesn’t prove their name on the document. And if you go to a signing where you can’t identify the signer, you either get a credible witness if your state allows this, or the signing might be over. It represents a potential deal breaking situation.

So, which is more serious, the Covid-19 issue or the ID issue? Covid-19 affects people more emotionally. People get all paranoid because of the media brainwashing. I sat with someone who had had Covid a month early. I was a bit apprehensive to share a meal with him and my other friends, but I did it, and everything was fine, and I lived to tell about it several months later. Someone who used to have Covid might strike some emotional buttons, but if they are testing negative NOW, they don’t pose much of a risk.

So, which is more important to ask about? Covid Covid, Oh my God Covid, or ID, ID, oh my God, ID? In my opinion objectively ID is more important, but if you are a vulnerable person, you probably should not be around other people whether they think they have Covid19, had it but got rid of it, or are asymptomatic and untested. If you are healthy enough to go to a signing, the way the name reads on the ID is the most important thing to ask about from my point of view which is based on science…. Okay, it’s not based on the science, but based on “the logic.”

On the other hand, it is impossible to judge the risk of someone who had Covid but is over it. If that is a deal breaker for you, then perhaps it is more important than an ID in your case. My question is so subjective. Perhaps the question is more about whether you can maintain objectivity in the event of a pandemic of emotional imbalance.