Are you looking for free legal documents, such as a last wills and testaments?
Clients often ask me to provide legal documents for signings, such as Powers of Attorney or Last Wills and Testaments. But legally, notaries in Michigan cannot provide such documents as that is considered to be unlicensed practice of law. Only attorneys can create or provide legal documents to clients.
What do I recommend to clients who need these documents who cannot (or do not wish to) hire an attorney? There are many ways to find free legal documents by searching for “free power of attorney form” or “free last will and testament form”.
There are legal websites that will customize documents for you for a fee. And office supply stores (such as Office Depot and Staples) sell generic documents you can customize in their stores and online, starting around $10. While not free, they are low cost.
Clients should also be aware that these documents typically require two independent witnesses. Witnesses are individuals who are not named in the documents. In some states, the notary can serve as one witness but that is NOT the case in Michigan. Most notaries can provide witness, usually at $25 per witness, but clients can provide their own witnesses as long as they are not named in the documents. Witnesses should be at least 18 years old, and have identification to share with the notary to validate their identities. You can read more about witnesses in our prior post on this topic.
Most legal documents can also be signed via remote online notarization. Check out our FAQ for more information! You can also learn more about our services here. This can be useful when those signing documents are located in different locations.
Questions? Feel free to give us a call/text at 313-799-2528 or drop us an email at dejongc@maximanotaries.com.
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