If I have a will signing what are the main things to remember to avoid
any drama during or after the signing? Is this one of the signings to steer clear of
for legal reasons? thanks
I do a lot of estate planning appointments and I love them cause I get paid well. 1 out of 10 appointments I have had drama… I just sit back and let them figure out what they want to do. On one appointment it got so heated I had to tell them that I am excusing myself and they can call me back once they have a resolution. They called me back 2 days later. I charged them for my travel time both times.
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wow, but that’s right we can excuse ourselves from that because we do not give legal advice
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Estate signings are some of the easiest to handle. Usually only those needing to sign are present. The beneficiaries are usually absent. Medical POAs and other ‘end of life’ situations may need some delicacy.
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I thought that Wills did not need to be notarized. If they don’t and someone asks for it to be notarized anyway, does anything negative come back on the notary?
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In this case, the paperwork requires notarization and has notary verbiage. They went over it with their lawyer. But, if I do not see proper notary verbiage, I will not notarize.
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Cool Beans
Let us know what happens.
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You often have to notarize the witnesses. Make certain they have proper ID’s and be sure to note them in your journal.
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Some states require a witness others for wills, and others for real property transfers. It’s up to your State’s laws.
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Some wills have a " self proving affidavit" In Florida, the notary cannot be a witness for this document as they are notarizing the witnesses signatures and cannot notarize their own signature.
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In California the Trust package has many notarized documents and a Will, which requires two witnesses who are not Beneficiaries, but no notarization. There are many times a Quit Claim in the package to transfer the property from being individually held to being vested in the Trust. There are all different price points for the Trust signing. If you are booking through a signing company you don’t print the documents and the fee is as low as $50 for up to 12 notarizations! You are either taking this as public service or taking one for the team as there is no way that the fee charge matches the service. Discount law firms will charge the financially disadvantaged less for their Trust and Will package and pass the discount on to the notaries who will complete the signing for $100. When approached by an individual to complete a trust signing, I explain that it is $15 per notarized signature as permitted by California law and possibly a travel fee. I can discount my services depending on the situation. In California the notary can be one of the witnesses as he/she is not a beneficiary. The Will often asks for the signature, printed name and address of the witness. Some witnesses provide a full address, and some just the city and state or a work address. I have not come across any California Trust packages that required me to notarize the witness signature. If that were the case, the notary cannot notarize his/her signature and another witness who is not a beneficiary is required. It’s a good idea to have a second witness on standby if you do not see an advance copy of the documents.
One thing to watch out for is the number of copies. Some law firms send over a printed binder and others send their clients a pdf file to print. The last signing I did was printed by the customer, two copies which no one had shared with me. It was when I got to the second Certification of Trust that I realized there was a duplicate file. This meant I was able to swap out some certificates that had minor errors but working with two copies can cause havoc and prolong the time it takes to complete the assignment.
One other caveat, the company that assigns the $50 Trust signing will expect you to scan at the table all the notarized documents. If you do not have a portable scanner, there are phone apps you can use or sometimes the clients have a scanner at home or in the office. In rare cases I will scan the documents in my office and return them to the signer if they live nearby. You don’t get paid extra for this so it’s a good idea to figure out how to return the scan before going to the signing.
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Hi Jenn! I don’t know if drama is what I would call it. It’s usually a sad time and usually done for somebody that’s dying in the hospital.
In Alabama, there are witnesses needed and the medical staff won’t do it in most cases. Ask ahead of time for them to bring a friend or neighbor.
usually people just want someone that’s calm, that focuses on the signer and that make sure the signer is aware of what they are signing… you should identify the principle,( the grantor) and identify the agent ( the one who executes the wishes of the principle or grantor). if people are in the room and they’re talking, you can take that opportunity to just go through each document just flipping through and looking at places where people need to sign and become familiar. identify again the agent, the principal will probably be pretty obvious either in a bed or somewhat incapacitated. Be considerate and be aware of the demeanor of everyone there.
I’ve never had any drama except once when a mentally unstable relative was trying to enter the nursing home to interrupt a signing. It didn’t happen.
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We do many of these. Most are done in hospital, where mobile notes are used. Charges should be $150 including travel and hospital visits ( which have their own Risks! )
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