Community Chat

[KathyPet]

Just to update. I had a notary come to the hospital and he did see my husband sign it.  I ha d to provide my husband's driver's license as proof of his identity but no witnesses required and no questions asked. Glad that is taken care of.

[Lucky Charm]

Kathy, I'm glad you got that taken care of.  I didn't respond to your original question because I have no idea Notary requirements.

But reading about your husband's diagnosis and the treatments-- I had to respond.  I hope and pray everything turns out well for him.   

[missy1]

I thought one who have to have a judge sign off if the person is mentally capable of making legal decisions.

[betteb]

I didn't read all the posts to see if someone already said this. But there should be a Notary at the hospital on weekdays that can handle this for you. They do this kind of thing all the time.

Ask the social worker.

[MarieIG]

Very glad that you were able to get that taken care of.

[Lipstickdiva]

I'm a notary and some of the answers given here are incorrect for the State of Ohio.

A notary isn't always "only" verifying information and having someone sign documents.  A notary very often has to administer an oath or acknowledgement to the person signing the document which means the person signing has to know what they are signing and the ramifications of it.

Some documents have a notary clause that only states the person signing has represented themselves to be the person signing the document. 

Some document have a notary clause that indicates who signed and that the person is acting on their own free will and is of sound mind to sign the document.

There are certain criteria a notary is supposed to ask in some instances to make sure they are comfortable that the person signing is competent to sign.  The signor has to be aware of who they are, where they are and the date.      

Our POA form here in Ohio requires an acknowledgement be administered to the signor.  I don't notarize just knowing the person is who he says he is.  

Just last week I was going to a hospital to obtain a signature on a POA and left without having her sign it because I was not able to determine she was aware of what the document was, who she was giving POA to, who she was, etc. 

[KingstonsMom]

DH and I recently did our wills, advance directives and POA's and we were told that the witnesses and notary had to be in the room to assure that we were both 'of sound mind' (we were even asked if either had been drinking or were on medication that would make us impaired).

[GingerPeach]

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@Lipstickdiva wrote:

I'm a notary and some of the answers given here are incorrect for the State of Ohio.

A notary isn't always "only" verifying information and having someone sign documents.  A notary very often has to administer an oath or acknowledgement to the person signing the document which means the person signing has to know what they are signing and the ramifications of it.

Some documents have a notary clause that only states the person signing has represented themselves to be the person signing the document. 

Some document have a notary clause that indicates who signed and that the person is acting on their own free will and is of sound mind to sign the document.

There are certain criteria a notary is supposed to ask in some instances to make sure they are comfortable that the person signing is competent to sign.  The signor has to be aware of who they are, where they are and the date.      

Our POA form here in Ohio requires an acknowledgement be administered to the signor.  I don't notarize just knowing the person is who he says he is.  

Just last week I was going to a hospital to obtain a signature on a POA and left without having her sign it because I was not able to determine she was aware of what the document was, who she was giving POA to, who she was, etc. 

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@Lipstickdiva

You are absolutely right.  Notarization can be more than a simple acknowledgment.  There is also the jurat form.  It is very much the same in California, and specifics will, of course, depend on the individual state.

(Yes, posters, I did see that KathyPet's notarization was completed.)

[Plaid Pants2]

Some documents require witnesses. 

Some don't.

The times that I have used a notary, I just went down to my local UPS store, where they had a notary, and had the document taken care of.

No witnesses.

No competency "test" given.

Just sign, thumbprint, done.

There were times when we were at my dad's lawyer, and papers needed to be signed, and then, yes, a witness was needed, and provided.

But a witness is not needed for every time one needs something notarized, nor is a "competancy test" given.

[JustJazzmom]

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@Plaid Pants2 wrote:

Some documents require witnesses. 

Some don't.

The times that I have used a notary, I just went down to my local UPS store, where they had a notary, and had the document taken care of.

No witnesses.

No competency "test" given.

Just sign, thumbprint, done.

There were times when we were at my dad's lawyer, and papers needed to be signed, and then, yes, a witness was needed, and provided.

But a witness is not needed for every time one needs something notarized, nor is a "competancy test" given.

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But on a form that does need a notary and a witness, the form will have that with space(s) for the witness(es) to sign.