I asked my Facebook fans what they would like me to share. A business owner and client (Lee Lonitz, http://www.designforsite.com/) asked me to share how I help business owners. Thank you for asking Lee! I help business owners get the most out of their time by delivering accurate, efficient notary service to them and their employees. Below are ways I more specifically help them with my mobile notary service:

1. Easy to schedule appointments: E-mail, online, text or phone.

2. Flexible schedule: As a full-time notary, I can work with their busy schedules. I can meet them at their office, at their off-site meeting location or at their home.

3. Prompt notary service: Reliable to help them stay on track with their busy schedules.

4. Professional notary service: Knowledgeable, accurate, efficient notary service allows their documents to be executed correctly, so they don’t have to repeat the process which could be costly with missed deadlines. I work with them to keep their workflow running smoothly. They are with me to show their current government issued identification, sign and date their documents, confirm they understand the documents (if required, take oaths) and sign my notary journal and give thumb prints. I complete the notary certificates and journal, for which they don’t have to be present.

5. Convenient payment options: Cash, check, debit card, credit card (American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa), PayPal or invoice.

6. Privacy: Their document and identification information are kept confidential. My notary journal is in my briefcase with me. If I leave my briefcase in my car, it is locked. In addition, it is secured with a cable and lock to the car. The completed journals are kept in a locked filing cabinet (My boss, the Secretary of State requires completed journals be kept for 7 years).

If you have any questions about how I can help you with your mobile notary needs, please feel free to ask me.

Stay in touch, join my Facebook Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary. You will also learn more about the daily happenings of a mobile notary public and loan signing agent in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula, South Bay and Silicon Valley.

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Wouldn’t that be simple, having a notary just stamp your document that requires notarization? Some calls I receive people say, “I just need a notary to stamp my document.” A couple of days ago, I received a crisis call for grant deeds that were notarized incorrectly. Several properties were involved in the transaction. The buyer flew out from the Midwest to meet with the seller here on the San Francisco Peninsula to complete the transaction. The seller was a client of a well known national bank, so they decided to have one of the national bank’s notaries notarize the grant deeds. The buyer flew back home thinking the transaction was complete.

The County Recorder office returned the grant deeds to the seller, since they were notarized incorrectly. Both parties were unhappy. The seller said, “My whole trip out there was a waste. The reason I flew out there was to notarize the grant deeds and they were done incorrectly….”

The seller was leaving the country for over two months, so the buyer needed the notarizations of the grant deeds completed ASAP.

You may be wondering how were the grant deed notarizations executed incorrectly? (“You mean it’s not just a notary stamp on them?”)

1) The notary added the buyer’s name as a signer and notarized him on each grant deed. With grant deeds, only the seller (grantor) signs it and is notarized.
2) The grant deed had an outdated notary acknowledgement. The notary law for this matter changed a couple of years ago.
3) Write in changes were made on the grant deed and were not initialed by the seller. This deters fraud. Otherwise, someone can make changes after the seller signs without the seller’s knowledge.
4) The notary didn’t log the grant deeds in the Notary Journal. This is important for both the buyer and seller, as it is proof the notarizations occurred. If they ever needed a copy of the journal line item, they would not have it. The notary law changed a couple of years ago, requiring each notarization have its own journal entry.

I met with the seller to notarize all of the grant deeds. After we finished, he left for the airport for his trip. Both the seller and buyer were relieved to have the grant deeds notarized correctly before the seller left.

Just stamping your document with their notary stamp is far from what a professional notary public provides to you. When you are in need of a notary public, be sure to choose a professional notary public. They are up-to-date on the notary laws, provide knowledge, experience and deter fraud to make your notary transaction smooth.

Stay in touch, join my Facebook Fan Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary. You will also learn more about the daily happenings of a mobile notary public and loan signing agent in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula, South Bay and Silicon Valley.”

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I received a phone call asking about mobile notary service to a local Silicon Valley hospital. During our phone conversation the caller mentioned the signer only speaks Portuguese. I informed her that unfortunately, I do not speak Portuguese. She would need to find a notary who speaks Portuguese to communicate with the signer. She found this frustrating and wanted me to still notarize the documents using an interpreter, their niece. I shared that notaries must be able to communicate directly with the signer. It is important as the notary must determine if the signer understands what they are signing and is signing of their own free will (no duress). Our state law requires notaries communicate directly with a signer. Otherwise, notaries may face penalties.

“The completion of a certificate of acknowledgment that contains statements that the notary public knows to be false not only may cause the notary public to be liable for civil penalties and administrative action, but is also a criminal offense. The notary public who willfully states as true any material fact known to be false is subject to a civil penalty not exceeding $10,000.”
California Secretary of State Handbook 2010

I encouraged her to find a notary who speaks Portuguese to complete the notarizations.

Stay in touch, join my Facebook Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary. You will also learn more about the daily happenings of a mobile notary public and loan signing agent in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula and South Bay and Silicon Valley.

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I just renewed my notary public commission. Well, according to the Secretary of State, “You are appointed for another term. There are no renewals of commissions.” The final step in this process is filing and taking an oath of office and filing official bond with the County Clerk’s office where my principal place of business is located. For me this is the Santa Clara County Clerk’s Office. After submitting my various paperwork and paying my dues, the County Clerk Recorder asked me to sign the Notary Public Oath and Certification of Filing Forms. Then, she asked me to raise my right hand. I stated my name and she stated from memory the following oath:

“do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.”

I responded, “Yes, I do”.

Wow, I wondered if I signed up for the military, CIA or FBI. This is the oath for California Notary Public’s. I wonder what the oaths are for the military, CIA or FBI.

I thought you might find the Notary Public of California oath interesting. Starting June 5, 2010, I officially start my new notary public appointment term.

Is there an oath you have for your profession?

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Recently, I communicated extensively with a family who is trying to have a Police Clearance letter notarized for their son who is teaching English in a foreign country. Some police departments have policies that do not allow their employees to show their driver’s licenses for identification. They only allow their employees to use their employer issued identification cards. The California Secretary of State, the governing body for notary public’s in California, has specific policies too for identifying a person who is notarized. In other words, the Secretary of State is the boss for notary publics. The penalty fee for improperly identifying a person is $10,000 (Civil Code 1189(a)(2)). This penalty was passed in 2008 due to mortgage fraud that occurred in the years previously.

An employee identification card issued by an agency or office of the State of California, or an agency or office of a city or county in California can be used as identification ONLY if it includes the following items:

1. Photo
2. Physical description
3. Identification number
4. Issue date and/or expiration date
5. Signature of the person (not anyone else)

These are specific requirements issued by the Secretary of State of California. They are non-negotiable. If you give $10,000 to the notary public, maybe the notary public will be willing to notarize your document. That will cover their penalty (Civil Code 1189(a)(2)). It won’t cover the negative mark from it on their record for the violation.

If you would like to learn more about these matters, you can review the 2010 Notary Public Handbook.

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Sometimes people who have documents that require notarization are unaware of the proper photo identification they need. The governing body that regulates California notary publics is the Secretary of State. They determine what forms of photo identification are allowed. Following are acceptable forms of current identification (or issued within five years) to notarize documents according to the Secretary of State’s Notary Public Handbook 2010 (some wording modified for easier reading):

1. US passport;
2. California Identification Card (is similar to California Driver’s license. It states “Identification Card” instead of “Driver License”)
3. California Senior Citizen Identification Card (same as above);
4. A passport issued by a foreign government that is stamped by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service or the US Citizenship and Immigration Services;
5. A driver’s license issued by another state or by a Canadian or Mexican public agency authorized to issue driver’s licenses;
6. An identification card issued by another state;
7. A US military identification card with a photo, physical description, signature, and identifying number;
8. An inmate identification card issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation;
9. An employee identification card issued by an agency or office of the State of California, or an agency or office of a city or county in California;

Please note the original photo identifications must be presented to the notary public before your documents are notarized. Copies of your photo identification or expired original photo identifications are not acceptable. The fine for notary public’s not properly identifying someone is up to $10,000. In addition, it is to protect you. Please understand the responsibility notary public’s have in identifying you before they notarize your documents.

Stay in touch, join my Facebook Fan Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary. You will also learn more about the daily happenings of a mobile notary public and loan signing agent in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula and South Bay and Silicon Valley.

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Recently I notarized a special power of attorney in Santa Clara, California with a homeowner. The power of attorney notary wording in the acknowledgement was out-of-date. If I used it the lender may have rejected it, which would delay the closing of purchasing their property. She was scheduled to leave town the next day. The following day loan documents for the purchase of their new house would be signed by her attorney in fact in another county at the escrow/title office. The seller, the movers and the borrowers were operating with the property closing on a specific date.

If I used the out-of-date notary acknowledgement and the lender rejected the power of attorney, there may have been some delay with the loan document execution. I would have to hand deliver the executed notary acknowledgement to their office immediately. If I was unable to hand deliver it immediately, there would be a delay in the closing of the property which would add more stress to the seller and borrowers by changing scheduled dates for items such as insurance, movers and utilities. In addition, there would be additional costs such as interest for the borrowers. There may be other costs involved.

In a different situation, I have seen this occur where another notary executed a power of attorney using the outdated notary acknowledgement. The bank rejected it because of the out-of-date notary acknowledgement. I was called to re-notarize the power of attorney using the correct notary acknowledgement. The additional stress is unfortunate when this happens to people, as usually they are already experiencing a lot of stress with why the person signing the power of attorney is unable to manage or handle financial themselves.

I am a member of the National Notary Association which keeps me up-to-date on new notary laws through their monthly publications. I am also a member of Notary Rotary, 123Notary.com and Golden State Notary which also keep me up-to-date on notary laws and industry changes. They also have notary forums where notaries from around the country share and discuss notary public matters. These organizations are focused on providing notary public education, supplies and platforms for notary publics to grow professionally.

When you have important documents such as a power of attorney requiring notarization, do you have a knowledgeable notary public you can call?

Join my Facebook Fan Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary to learn more about the daily happenings of a mobile notary public & loan signing agent in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula and South Bay and Silicon Valley.

Recently, a family law attorney in Santa Clara County contacted me in the late afternoon. Her client in Palo Alto is in the process of finalizing an ugly divorce. One of the last pieces is notarizing the Interspousal Transfer Deed. The attorney’s location is about 25 miles from her client. She wanted to have the deed notarized the following day. Within an hour or so after we spoke, she emailed me the documents. I reviewed them and noticed her client’s last name was spelled incorrectly. She was grateful that I caught the typo and was able to update it and send it to me.

Imagine if the document was notarized with the typo. If the error was caught at the County Clerk’s office when it was to record, they would reject the documents. This would delay finalizing the divorce which was to happen in a couple of days. Can you imagine the emotional stress? What if the error wasn’t caught at the County Clerk’s office? The spouse receiving the property (grantee) really would not have full ownership of the property. What challenges would that bring along since the divorce agreement wasn’t followed? Some level of stress would occur.

When you have important documents you need notarized do you have a detail-oriented professional mobile notary you can count on?

Join my Facebook Fan Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary to learn more about the daily happenings of a mobile notary public & loan signing agent in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula and South Bay and Silicon Valley.

Adopting an international child is an exciting time for soon-to-be-parents. At times, the process can be stressful with all of the paperwork required by both the local and the foreign adoption agencies. The process involves notarized documents and apostille or certification of the documents with the Secretary of State before they are sent to the country’s adoption agency. Completing and notarizing the documents correctly are important in maintaining the adoption timeline.

A recent couple with whom I have worked is in Russia completing the final steps in their adoption process. They will be there just under three weeks. At the end of it, they will bring home their 18 month old son. They are thrilled to be at the end of their 18 month adoption process.

I notarized documents for them with their physicians, CPA, psychologist, work colleagues and many other documents that are required by both the local adoption agency and the adoption agency in Russia.

When they received a call a couple of weeks ago about the final steps with their adoption process, they were advised of additional notarized documents that were required. I met with their physicians and at the husband’s work office to notarize the final required documents.

I was glad to be of service to them and sharing a part of their journey with them.

When you are ready to adopt an international child, do you know of a professional, detail oriented mobile notary who can help ease the stressful paperwork requirements?

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I just spent about half an hour on the phone with the son (“Mr. Smith Jr.”) of Mr. Smith Sr. who is in Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California. A few days ago, a notary notarized a power of attorney with Mr. Smith Sr.. When Mr. Smith Jr. brought it to the bank, the bank wouldn’t accept it since it was notarized incorrectly. The wrong notary acknowledgement was used and the marks signed by Mr. Smith Sr. weren’t written with correct representation. What a terrible surprise for the Smiths.

Yesterday, I notarized a document for Mr. Smith Sr.. He signed by a mark and we had two witnesses present.

Today in the early evening, Mr. Smith Jr. called me asking for help. He noticed on the power of attorney that the notary certificate was different than what I used. He also noticed that the mark his father made on the power of attorney was handled differently than the way it was handled on the document I notarized. He called me again for help, when they arrived at the other notary’s office.

Having an incorrectly notarized power of attorney was hugely unfortunate for the Smith family, as Mr. Smith Sr. recently fell which caused paralysis from his neck down. This event by itself is enormously overwhelming for the Smiths.

Do you know of a competent notary public you can call to be sure you avoid such a situation? If not, do you know where to search for one?

Join my Facebook Fan Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary to learn more about the daily adventures of a mobile notary public & loan signing agent in the counties of Santa Clara and San Mateo, California.