Notaries frequently notarize wills and power of attorney statements, which are many times conducted in hospitals and nursing homes as people are getting their affairs in order.
It is the ethical obligation of a notary to ensure that someone signing a document is of sound mind. It is unfortunate that some people may take advantage of someone who is hospitalized or not fully coherent in order to change a will or power of attorney. Notaries are public officials, and have taken an oath to upload the laws of the State of Michigan. We are ethically obligated to ensure people are signing documents of their own free will.
Notaries are also not permitted to provide legal advice, which is considered unlicensed practice of law. Therefore, we cannot make recommendations about what our clients should do, or the documents they need. We also cannot provide documents to our clients, but recommend they speak to an attorney or look for legal resources online.
At Maxima Notaries, we commit to upholding the highest ethical standards for Notaries Public. In addition to ensuring that signers understand the documents they are signing, we provide our services at reasonable fees. Our community is important to us, and we view our work as community service.
Contact us for more information.
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