Muthiah Nachiappan Archives - Notary Blog - Signing Tips, Marketing Tips, General Notary Advice - 123notary.com
123Notary

Notary Blog – Signing Tips, Marketing Tips, General Notary Advice – 123notary.com Control Panel

April 21, 2021

SCREENING FOR MORE THAN COVID……

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 7:00 am

SCREENING FOR MORE THAN COVID……

Don’t let people waste your TIME. That is all you have and you can’t reclaim it. This blog is to remind all Notaries of the “SCREENING” they need to do before accepting an assignment or even giving a quote.

First and foremost, you should check if the signer or anyone in that household has COVID, come in contact with anyone who has had COVID or are under quarantine orders. Of course, there is a possibility that they may not tell the truth. If that is the case, be prepared to walk if you suspect that the signer has COVID when you get to the signing.

Other important questions to ask when someone calls you for a quote:

Let them know that you are happy to provide them with a quote but you would appreciate it if they answered a few questions.

1. Are they shopping around for the lowest prices? If that is the case, just give them your bottom-line price and let them know that they can call you after they are done shopping with other notaries.

2. Make sure that you toot your own horn (No one else will!) Let the signer know about your experience, certifications and # of loan signings before they go shopping for a lower price. If they are not shopping, ask them the following questions.

3. What type of document is being notarized? Real Estate, Power of Attorney etc.

4. Do they have the document with them?

5. Does the signer have current and valid ID?

6. Do they have a private area where you can sit down safe distance apart to notarize the document?

7. Try to schedule your appointment during a 2- or 3-hour appointment window in case you are running late. Let them know that you will arrive anytime during that window and they should be available. You can let them know that you will call or text them 30 minutes prior to arrival.

8. Determine method of payment and let them know that you don’t accept personal checks if that is your preference.

9. Ask them if they have any other commitments during the appointment window so you can be adequately prepared.

Share
>

April 4, 2021

Notarizing During Covid – by Muthiah

Filed under: Other Guest Bloggers — Tags: — admin @ 5:30 am

There is no user manual for performing notarizations during Covid other than the generic precautions offered by the CDC.

I have performed a few mobile notarizations over the past 6 months after the onset of the Covid pandemic and have the following advice based on my experience.

First and foremost, recognize that MONEY cannot buy HEALTH. Therefore, be prepared to walk away for a mobile assignment under the following situations. This is not an exhaustive list for a good starting point.

1. Avoid traveling to hospitals, Jails and Nursing Homes even if the signer offers to
pay you more money. COVID is more rampant in these facilities and so don’t
expose yourself to an environment that is conducive to COVID.

2. Ask lots of pertinent questions on the phone such as if they have COVID, if they
have come in contact with anyone who has COVID or if they are under
quarantine orders by the health department. Often times you can tell when
speaking to someone if they are not giving you a straight answer. If you have
even a remote suspicion that you may be walking into a COVID environment, you
should not accept the assignment.

3. Make sure that the place you are going to notarize is spacious so that you can
distance yourself and be safe.

4. When you get to the place that you are notarizing and find that the signer is not
wearing a mask or if there are too many people in a small space or if something
there makes you uncomfortable, just walk away. Remember your health and your
family’s health is more important than the money you get paid.

If you are completely comfortable only then perform the mobile notarization.

Muthiah Nachiappan

Share
>

November 21, 2018

12 questions to ask for hospital notarizations

Filed under: Comprehensive Guides,Hospital & Jail Signings,Other Guest Bloggers,Popular on Twitter — Tags: — admin @ 9:23 am

SAFETY TIPS AND 12 QUESTIONS TO ASK FOR HOSPITAL NOTARIZATIONS:
I get calls frequently for Notarizations in Jails and Hospitals.
This blog will focus on things you must do to protect yourself from lawsuits and damages when you get a desperate call to go out to a hospital to notarize documents to be signed by a patient, moistly a Power of Attorney. The phone call invariably comes from the child who has a parent admitted to the hospital.
What do you do as the Notary when the person calling says they will pay you whatever you charge as your mobile fee? Remember Rule #1: It is not always about the money. It is about your ability to follow the Notary laws and perform your job without taking short cuts.
The following list of questions is a short summary of the steps I have actually taken when I got such a call.

1. What is your relationship to the patient?
2. Do you have any other siblings or relatives who have a beneficial interest in the transaction?
3. Is the patient conscious? Coherent? On any medication?
4. Does the patient have a current valid ID with him or can you make it available when the notary arrives at the hospital?
5. Is the patient able to sign his name without any help?
6. Does the patient speak English and can he understand and answer simple questions coherently?
7. Does the patient have an attending physician and a Nurse assigned to him?
8. Do you have the number to the attending physician and nurse because I need to talk to them to get an accurate idea of the health and overall condition of the patient?
9. When can I talk to the patient directly by phone with a nurse present in the room?
10. What type of document are you having notarized?
11. What dates and times work for the patient?
12. My mobile fees are _____ and $15/signature notarized. After I get there if I make the determination that the person is unable to understand anything I ask him or is being forced to sign, I will not be able to notarize the document but will still charge you my mobile fee for coming out based on your representations over the phone. Are you okay with that because I don’t want to get into any arguments after I get there?

Believe me there has been more than one occasion I can recall where I had to leave without notarizing a document because the patient was unable to understand anything I asked, was incoherent and simply could not sign or even hold a pen to just mark an “X”. It is better to walk away from a Notarization where you know instinctively that it is wrong because the signer is not aware of what he is signing and inevitably you will end up being a party to a litigation by interested parties who believe that the Notary failed to take into account the coherence and soundness of mind of the signer at the time of the Notarization. This would invalidate your notarization and worse yet force you to pay legal expenses to defend yourself. Is it worth it? Absolutely not!

.

You might also like:

The carrot, the stick, the notary, and the bag
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3951

When to ask for ID over the phone & fees at the door
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15282

A tale of four notaries at hospitals
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=463

Hospital Notary jobs from A to Z
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=76

Share
>

April 29, 2018

Do I need $1 million (E&O) insurance to get more Notary business?

Filed under: Marketing Articles,Other Guest Bloggers — Tags: , , , — admin @ 10:59 pm

Do I need $100,000 or $1 million in Errors & Omission (E&O) insurance to get more Notary business?
It is not uncommon for some companies to require that a Notary have more than the standard amount of E&O Insurance. There is no state mandated minimum for E&O unlike a Notary Bond where the law requires every Notary to file an official bond for $15,000 which is designed to pay limited claims against the Notary Public.

But please make no mistake. All Notaries must carry some form of E&O insurance to protect themselves from unintentional errors and omissions they make. Of course, E&O policies will not cover fraudulent acts or intentional errors. Without E&O Insurance, you will have to pay for the cost of the judgment or settlement and your own legal expenses. The financial impact can force a Notary to renounce his/her Notary commission and possibly even declare bankruptcy depending upon then severity of the error.

The high coverage of an E&O policy is based on the false perception that the companies would get a better class of Notary or that they are protected from any and all errors made by the Notary. This is farthest from the truth. I have more than 20 years of experience being a Notary and have never increased my E&O Insurance above the standard amount of $15,000/- primarily for 2 reasons. First, the number of companies requiring $100,000 or even $1 million in E&O Insurance are few and far between and the number of jobs that a Notary gets does not make up for the increased premium for the additional coverage. Second, the E&O policy only covers clerical errors and does not cover any fraudulent acts committed by the Notary. As a matter of practice, I double and sometimes triple check my work and am always cautious of the people who appear before me for a notarization. More importantly, I never do anything that even has the appearance of a scam or fraud. I have no intention of being someone’s boyfriend with no escape clause!!

.

You might also like:

The 30 point course – beneficial interest and E&O Insurance
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14532

Posts about E&O Insurance
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=eo-insurance

Help, I’m being sued, and E&O insurance won’t help!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3570

Share
>

April 9, 2018

When do I need to use a California All-Purpose Acknowledgment?

Filed under: California_Notary,Other Guest Bloggers — Tags: — admin @ 10:42 am

When do I need to use a California All-Purpose Acknowledgment?
A Notary Public in California only needs to use the notarial language found in an All Purpose Acknowledgment if the document is being filed in California.

California Civil Code Sec 1189 ( c ) allows a Notary to use the preprinted acknowledgment language from another state as long as the Notary is not required to determine or certify in which capacity the signer is signing the document. Certifications are prohibited for Notaries to perform by California law. Notaries are not required to even include the disclaimer at the top of the notarization which essentially states that the Notary Public completing the notarization is only verifying the identity of the signer and not the “truthfulness, accuracy or validity of the document”.

A document that many Notaries see and something that I see brought to my office often at A1 Live Scan Fingerprinting and Notary Services in downtown Los Angeles is Form TSP-70 which is the Thrift and Savings plan Financial Hardship In-Service Withdrawal Request form. This form has preprinted Notarial Language for Acknowledgment and has specific instructions for the Notary that reads in relevant part, “Notary:……No other acknowledgement is acceptable (see instructions)”.

When you see forms such as TSP-70 that is being sent or filed in another state or jurisdiction, use the preprinted form as long as you are not being asked to certify the capacity in which the signer is signing the document.

.

You might also like

Who does what in an Acknowledgment?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20108

Notary Public 101’s guide to Acknowledgments & other Notary Acts
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19500

The new acknowledgment form for transgender people
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19658

Share
>

April 3, 2018

Using the correct Notarial Certificate for an Apostille:

Filed under: Other Guest Bloggers — Tags: , , — admin @ 10:17 am

At our office in Downtown Los Angeles — A1 Live Scan & Notary Services – we get to correctly renotarize many notarized documents that the SOS rejects doing an Apostille because the wrong notarial certificate was used by a Notary.

Let’s first start with what is an Apostille?
An Apostille authenticates the Notary Public as a valid and licensed Notary to a foreign government or agency. The foreign entity relies on the SOS to make sure that the document being sent to them was in fact notarized by a currently licensed notary in good standing.

Next the question is what type of Notarial Certificate do you attach to a document being taken to the SOS for an Apostille?

First and foremost, ask the singer and explain the differences between the 3 commonly used certificates – All Purpose Acknowledgment, Jurat and Copy Certification by Document Custodian.

If the signer is not sure, go over the preprinted language on the document with the signer if there is notarial wording. In most cases even if there is notarial wording, it would not comply with California Notary Laws. So then look at the existing language and if it has “affirmations”, “oaths” or “swearing as to the truth of the contents”, use a Jurat.

If the language does not have an Oath but merely says the person appeared in front of you and acknowledged signing the document, then use a California All-Purpose Acknowledgment.

The third type of Notarization for an Apostille is when a signer brings a document such as College transcripts, Degree Certificates, Passport copy, letters from third parties. These documents are already signed by the issuer and there is no notarial wording. In this case, you use a certificate called, “Copy Certification by Document Custodian” to notarize the document by the person who brings it to you even if it is not that person’s document. Hence the name “…by Document Custodian”.

Hope this clarifies the confusion surrounding certificates used for an Apostille.

You might also like:

Apostille – general information
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21419

Index of posts about Notary acts
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20280

Share
>

January 28, 2011

Don’t be intimidated

Filed under: Technical & Legal — Tags: — admin @ 9:18 am

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU AS NOTARIES HEARD THE FOLLOWING?
Don’t be intimidated. Know the laws and stand your ground. Be an empowered Notary!

1. My lawyer said that you don’t need to attach anything. Just sign it and I will get out of your hair.
2. The other Notary I went to did not attach anything to the same document. Why are you?
3. Look, I used to be a Notary. Don’t give me a hard time.
4. I am a Lawyer…I do this for a living. Please don’t question me.
5. Look, if you don’t do it there are a hundred other notaries who will be happy to have my business.

At the end of the day, you need to be confident in the Notary Laws. Take the 123 Notary exam and be listed as an Elite Certified Notary. At the beginning of every year print out the Notary handbook with any new law and us e it as your bible and source of reference when you are questioned. It will add to your credibility and boost your own confidence when you interact with the public especially an attorney who thinks he is the repository of all knowledge and just miraculously knows more than you a licensed Notary.

I have had encounters of the worst kind with Lawyers, Doctors, Real Estate professionals and even other Notaries who have repeatedly challenged me and when they did not like what I had to say took to the internet and unfairly left me and my company bad reviews spewing the most vituperative and vile stuff. I responded in a cool and calm manner on why the reviews were without basis and let the readers decide for themselves.

Here are a few examples of things you are asked to do that you should not do under any circumstances if you want to be a trusted Notary and keep being an advocate of best notary practices.:

1. A Doctor wants you to put your seal on the photo when the Notary Laws prohibit you from doing so.
2. The name on the document does not match the name on the ID
3. An Attorney does not want you to even glance through the document to check if it is complete complaining that it is an invasion of his client’s privacy.

You are licensed and knowledgeable. Don’t let people push you around. Enjoy what you do and help people in the process.

.

You might also like:

Cross out and initial, or use a fresh form?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19933

The ID says John Smith
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19953

The one Notary that used the embosser was the one Notary that…
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19650

Share
>