Saturday, 20 September 2014

How A Notary Public Philadelphia PA Can Help You

By Karina Frost


A notary public is a public servant who is appointed by a state official such as a governor, state secretary or a lieutenant governor. This professional can also be appointed by the state legislature. In Pennsylvania, notaries are empowered to perform a number of official acts. They take verifications, affidavits, depositions and acknowledgements, administer affirmations and oaths, certify copies of documents and protest dishonored negotiable instruments.

A notarial officer cannot provide you with legal advice or help you draft various documents such as leases, wills, bonds, liens, contacts or powers of attorney. The law prohibits this professional from doing so. By hiring a notary public Philadelphia PA inhabitants can avoid being victims of fraud. They can also show that the documents they have signed are valid.

If you want to have a certain legal document notarized, you should appear before a notarial officer and provide him or her with document that contains your name and a photograph. Examples of such documents are military IDs, drivers licenses and passports. Notarial officers are not required to have a lot of prior knowledge or specialized training. They are only required to pass an exam and undergo a background check in order to get a license.

Knowing the identity of a person before notarizing a document is essential. Therefore, the notarial officer may spend a few minutes verifying the identity of each person who is signing a legal document. After certifying a document, a notarial officer seals it with an official seal and records the transaction in a register. By having documents notarized, you can avoid being a victim of misrepresentation, scams, fraud or forgery.

Notary publics are effective in deterring fraud because the requirements that should be met before a legal document is notarized are many. One requirement is that people signing a document should do so before the notarial officer. A document cannot be notarized unless the signers make a personal appearance when it is being signed. This makes it hard for imposters to try to get fraudulent documents notarized.

A notarial officer will also verify whether the people who are signing a legal document know the reason for doing so and that they do so under their own free will. This helps to prevent forced transactions from taking place. Notarial officers also check the legal documents thoroughly to ensure that they are complete before you sign them. In this way, you will not sign a blank document that can be used for a different purpose.

Notaries also create journals that contain details about the documents they have notarized. A notarial journal is part of public records and can be used as evidence if a person who signed a document is charged with engaging in fraudulent activities. Ensuring that the signing of various documents is witnessed by a notarial officer is essential if you regularly deal with strangers. This can help you avoid losing money due to fraud.

You can find a notarial officer in various institutions or use the services of a mobile notary public. Some notarial officers work in banks. Banks hire them to ensure that any legal document that needs to be notarized can be officially witnessed by the notarial officers on their premises. They also work in government offices, police precincts, law firms and courthouses.




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