Ring, Ring, Ring - How May I Help You?

August has brought warmer weather and increased business. My loans, apostilles and direct notary work are all up over July. The minute I sit down to rest the phone rings for my next job!

It's nice being busy doing what you love. In this month alone, I have processed apostilles for the Czech Republic, Serbia, Mexico, South Korea and Spain. I'm currently in the middle of processing documents for the UAE and Austria.

Direct notary work has led me to notarize documents at the Torrance Courthouse for the Los Angeles District Attorney, for an attorney at the Metropolitan Detention Center, parental permission to travel documents for an uncle taking his nephew on a cruise, a power of attorney at Men's Central Jail and a marriage license application at Twin Towers.

I hope business remains steady but if not I will use the down time to to increase my marketing efforts. Consistent marketing will help me have consistent business.

Notarized Does Not Mean Legalized

Sometimes people are led to believe that once a document is notarized it is legal but this is not the case. A notary's job is to verify the identity of the signer and to act as an impartial 3rd party witness.

To verify identity the notary will ask the signer to show proof of who they are with a drivers license, state identification card, passport or other acceptable documentation. If questioned, the notary has to be able answer questions about the identity of the signer and what type of document was notarized but not the validity of the document.

The validity of a document is left up the courts and legal counsel.