WHAT WILL THE JUDGE DECIDE?

A few years back (okay, more than a few) my boss gave me a crystal ball.  Her wry sense of humor mixed delightfully with good taste and the large glass ball still sits beautifully perched upon its pewter stand in my office today.  It’s a fun reminder for both me and my clients that, while most people were out there having lives, lawyers were spending their time memorizing the law, learning the procedures, practicing arguing tactics, working on oratory skills and perfecting writing skills…but we failed to master precognition.  A glaring flaw, I know.

So, unfortunately, I can’t tell you what the judge will decide.  However, ever the pleaser, here is what I will do for you: I will explain how the decision will be reached.  

WHY DO WE NOTARIZE DOCUMENTS?

To notarize or not to notarize that is the question.

The purpose of notarization is to deter fraud.

A notary complies with a statuary method to determine the identity of the individual that signed a document and, as needed, administers oaths.  This greatly increases the reliability of the signature.

Although there may be other ways to prove that someone signed a document, a notarization is a clean, cost-effective method.  In many places notarization is required by statute for certain documents (deeds, mortgages, power of attorneys), but it is a good practice for any important document.  If the document is ever in dispute in a lawsuit the notarization provides a significant procedural advantage because it is “self-authenticating” meaning that the signer doesn’t have to take the stand and swear that he signed it before the court will accept it into evidence.  You can imagine how useful this is if the signer is dead or otherwise unavailable.