In our commitment to providing excellent legal services to you and the community, we prioritize everyone’s safety by declining a transaction if a signer cannot fully explain their understanding of the documents and the reason for our meeting. We understand that difficult, stressful, and desperate moments may arise, but taking shortcuts concerning notary or California law is not in anyone’s best interest. If you are working with a person who is unable to make clear decisions, we recommend contacting an attorney for guidance on next steps. Doing what’s right protects everyone involved.
We frequently receive calls from family members in challenging situations regarding their elderly parents, frail family members, or ill friends. Requests for powers of attorney or advance health care directives to act on someone’s behalf or to move along a transaction are common on a weekly basis. However, for the safety of the vulnerable in our community and the integrity of your transaction, we must ensure that a signer has the capacity to sign. Otherwise, we risk breaking California law, compromising your transaction, endangering all parties involved, and even facing jail time.
Moreover, we place great importance on protecting a signer’s wishes and the integrity of your transaction. If everyone does not follow the rules, integrity, the transaction, and all future work may be compromised. Therefore, if a signer is unable to reason, understand, and confidently convey answers pertaining to a document, our policy is to cancel the appointment immediately.