I got something notarized at UPS for the first time... šŸ˜­

Yup.

I went to UPS and actually ordered their notary service for my Will that I made. The will had 2 pages which needed two witnesses and 1 page for a notarization. I already knew that UPS only charged $10 per stamp, but before this I went to my bank, since banks notarize for free. Turns out no bankers at my bank had their notary license and the manager, who did have one, was ā€œaway.ā€ Lol :smile:. Of course. Itā€™s my fault for expecting it to be that simple. Everywhere you go these days, businesses are understaffed and under qualified to do their jobs for some reasonā€¦

Anyway, I went to UPS. There were 3 men behind the counter. I told Employee A what I needed and he said they could provide the 2 witnesses and then charged me 10 dollars. Turns out, he wasnā€™t a notary. There was only 1 notary inside (the manager Iā€™m guessing?). It was a chaotic process for what was honestly a super simple procedure. Noone was talking to me or coordinating with me. Employee A didnā€™t tell the notary anything about my documents, so I had to re-explain that I needed 2 witnesses to the notary as well.

At this point, one of the employees left on his break (Employee B). Like, I kid you not. Immediately after I got with the notary, Employee A and Employee B were discussing who would go on break. I literally just told Employee A I needed them to witness and he agreed that they were available. Unfortunately, Employee A mentions this fact to no-one and Employee B leaves lmao. So now Iā€™m just standing there likeā€¦ :man_facepalming:t5:

People are continuing to stroll into the store. Thereā€™s a line of 5 people and only Employee A is behind the counter. The notary has ditched me and run to the back of the store, presumably to find a witness, as he told me absolutely nothing about where he was off to. The notary comes back with Employee D. The notary never checks my will, never checks my ID, and doesnā€™t make me sign a notary logā€¦ which is stupid. This could be anyoneā€™s will that Iā€™m signing. I could easily be impersonating someone. The world will never know as the notary checked nothing about me or who was on the will as the testator :laughing:. So Iā€™m standing there waiting for the other witness (Employee A) to come over because obviously both witnesses need to witness me sign. Thatā€™s the whole point.

The notary says that the witnesses arenā€™t there for that, thatā€™s what heā€™s there for. Jesusā€¦ I mean, likeā€¦ what? Their job description is literally their name. I told him, ā€œyeah, no, thatā€™s not correct. Witnesses are supposed to witness the testator sign the will. But whatever.ā€ They were all so clueless and I wanted to get out. Iā€™m allergic to incompetence and didnā€™t want a rash. So, Employee D watches me sign and then signs after. Instead of writing his address where it says ā€œAddressā€ he writes his email??? Justā€¦ what? Can you read?? I simply correct him, he rewrites, and then I begin to flip the page. Before I do, Employee D, who Iā€™ve already explained the 2 signatures of his that I needed, starts walking off to the back room. Iā€™m likeā€¦ ā€œHey! Weā€™re not done?ā€ I literally just showed you the 2nd page like 10 seconds agoā€¦ lol. Meanwhile, the notary/manager is just standing there in silenceā€¦

So we sign the second page. Then Employee A ditches all the people in line and signs his name twice attesting to the fact that he did, in fact, watch me sign my own will (which is a lie, since he did not). At this point, the whole store has halted and the only front desk employees inside are helping me. Yikes. So, then, we finally finish and the notary says, ā€œOh, btw, you have to pay 5$ for each witness signature, so thatā€™s $20.ā€ :man_facepalming:t5: 15 minutes have gone by and no-one has mentioned this? Not one person until the very end? At this point, 8 people are in line all the way out of the front door. I honestly just laughed because it was so stupid, unprofessional, inefficient, and just plain bad customer service. I had to direct everyone during the process, since I knew exactly what was needed and where. Bizarre. And then I get hit with an extra charge.

I thought, ā€œWhatever I need to do to get the hell out of here is what Iā€™ll do.ā€ So, I skipped line, paid, and sprinted out of there. Kind of interesting that that same notary has the exact same qualifications to do NSA work as me, someone who has taken the Notary2Pro Course, LSS Course, NNA certified, and worked for almost 2 years with all kinds of documents. It helped me understand why there is no solidarity among NSAs and why some people will take any fee. We are not operating on the same level. What a hot mess lmao. :crazy_face::crazy_face::crazy_face:

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Crazily frustrating. Iā€™ve got nothing else, other than to say I can completely relate to your allergy. Wow!

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This is just crazy! Wow! I had a similar (but not near as bad) experience when I went to my local credit union to get my RON commission notarized. The CU associate barely glanced at my ID, stamped over wording, failed to administer the oath, and when I asked him about signing his book he said, ā€œNo need!ā€ I was stunned, but not surprised when, later that week I received a call from a title company asking if I could perform a signing at that same CU. Sure! No Problem! I am now their direct contact for closings as none of their on-site notaries can be trusted to do them correctly!

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Thatā€™s awesome. Nice work. Yeah, there really is a difference between notaries and their level of professionalism, knowledge, and general service. Someone doing it as a side thing is different than someone who takes it seriously as their business/full time job. The difference is shocking.

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Wowā€¦. You had the patience of a saintā€¦ I probably would have lost it. I have zero patience for incompetency and unprofessional behavior. They obviously donā€™t understand or care to understand the level of responsibility and liability that comes with the notary process. I spoke with a manager at Staples that shared with me that they too will be offering notary services and he is not happy about it one bit. He said he is giving corporate pushback cause he understands and wants no part of that.

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since when do we notarize wills?

Since you are just notarizing the signature, not the content, no problem!

When there is a Self-Proving affidavit included in the Will; and each state has different requirements for proper execution of a Will - some states require notarizations, some witnesses only, some both

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WOW! Thank you for sharing this story with us. Yes, it really shows us on how we are educated and experienced in this field when we witness lookalikes who think can do our jobs.

thank you and happy holidays

happy holidays to you and your company

It was so bad, it became funny. I was honestly looking around for the studio audience. It reminded me of a whacky 90s sitcom episode where everything that goes wrong, does. It was definitely shocking, though. No wonder the title of notary doesnā€™t hold much weight to the public. Itā€™s sad :confused:

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It depends on the state. TN wills require 2 witnesses. They donā€™t have to be notarized, but it makes the will ā€œself-provingā€ and makes things smoother in court for the people left behind.

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Surprised you are just now figuring out Notaries DO NOT operate at the same levels. I have found UPS Notaries in WA State do not even take time to read notary laws for state. Good old Google advertising has given me a lot of work for Wills, POAs, etc. When I had my Will and POAs signed and witnessed, fortunate enough to have fellow Notaries in area and we all met at community center for signing. Having their business card to put with documents was comforting.

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Hi Linda ~ Iā€™m in WA State and have found there are literally thousands of forms for Wills, POAs, etc. Majority of forms do require Witnesses which is probably a good idea if multiple family members involved should family dispute end up in court.

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I know, Alice - have done many in my paralegal career; I was clarifying that for bonniejbrogan.

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Haha. Well, it was something that I suspected, but I have never had anything notarized outside of my notary application. You are right. Completely correct. Because our profession is loose with its titles, anyone and everyone can become a notary without proving that they, in fact, are upholding notary laws and following principles set by their state. This, in turn, makes it easy to discount the expertise and hardworking nature of true notaries. Anyone can go down and apply for a notary license and operate at the lowest level. Those same people can accept Refiā€™s for $65 with no care at all for the true time and commitment that a good and proper service contains. There is seemingly no way to set yourself apart from bad notaries, so we all receive the same fee offers from companies. The notary that I worked with could also be an NSA, I donā€™t know. Maybe for extra cash? But they will not stand up for proper fees. They will not push back on exploitation from signing services.

In other professions, like law for example, there are rules, regulations, and certain tests (the bar) that must be passed so that everyone is generally on the same page. And when those lawyers set their fees, they factor in their proficiency as part of the price, whether it is a simple consultation or an actual court case. As a notary, we do not have this, which makes it easy for outsiders to discount our usefulness and thus, our ability to make a living. We are not simply signing and stamping. There is more to it and proper notaries work hard to hold themselves to a high standard in order to fulfill the duties of their role. So, yes, it was definitely a learning lesson for me.

All in all, it was good to see what the ā€œcompetitionā€ is doing for bottom of the barrel fees and it helps me advertise a better service for higher fees. After all, you canā€™t expect Filet mignon at a Michelin star restaurant to taste the same as an Applebeeā€™s steak. Nor can you expect the service to be at the same level. And the price reflects thatā€¦

Not all states allowed RON for all notarizations, and there would have been a substantial increase in cost if it was allowed.

The law that made electronic signatures, including electronic signatures by notaries, recognized throughout the country, is the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. It has a provision that it doesnā€™t apply to wills, so unless a state specifically passes a law allowing electronic wills, theyā€™re not allowed. Even if a state has such a law, there is the question of whether the court that ends up handling the estate will accept it. The format might have become obsolete, the person may have moved to a different state after making the will, etc.

While I can legally notarize any document to be used in another state via RON from Ohio (including someone in California), it will always be up to the receiving jurisdiction as to whether the document will be accepted. We always let clients know in advance to check with the receiving party.
Also, every state has different rules for every type of document. For example, in Ohio, a Last Will and Testament is not notarized at all, but is witnessed. However, a living will is notarized.
Just an aside for ā€œcheck with the receiving partyā€, 87 of 88 counties in Ohio accept a Vehicle Title transfer via Power of Attorney notarized by a RON. We have one county that still wonā€™t accept the BMV POA for a vehicle title.

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