Why the Notary
Why
The Notary
Documents
are notarized to deter fraud and to ensure proper execution. It is the
responsibility of the notary public to ensure that the signers have appeared
before them and have produced proper identification. The Notary Public
officiates at the signing and ensures that the documents are signed correctly.
The notary makes sure that the signers are entering into agreements knowingly
and willingly.
For
a document to be notarized, it must contain the following elements:
When witnessing a
signature on a document the following applies:
Verbally
administering an oath when performing a verification (Jurat) do the following:
Notarization
has a legal impact on the contract as it converts a private document to a
public instrument. Agreements on the contract are enforceable once the document
is notarized because it is a strong proof of the document’s authenticity.
However, basic requirements must also be observed in notarizing documents. The
document is also rendered admissible in court as tangible evidence once it is
notarized. Notarization also prevents fraud among legal documents and
contracts. The documents that often require notarization are Power of Attorney,
medical documents, sworn statements, affidavits, deeds, wills and trusts.