No, Your Bank Won't... Notarize Your Will

Article borrowed from LinkedIn.

By way of public service announcement, this post is to help you avoid an inconvenient truth: Your Bank Will Not Notarize Your _________ fill in the blank with any and all of the following:

• Will

• Trust

• Court Affidavit

• Deed

• Contract

• Health Care/Financial Powers of Attorney

• add pretty much any other document needing the seal of a notary which is not directly tied to the banks own native transaction or legal need.

I've learned this the hard way over the years. In the not too distant past, local banks would have someone on staff to notarize documents free of charge to their clients, and quite often as a service to the general public too.

For most estate planning lawyers, it's common for our older clients to assume their trusted local bank branch will help them take care of the notarization part of executing a trust amendment or a new Will. This belief in loyal banking service runs deep! Despite my frequent pleas that clients seek alternatives, they inevitably want to proceed anyway with their standby process from the last time the Will was completed (possibly more than ten or fifteen years ago.) I encourage them to 1) call ahead to make sure this notarization is somehow possible, and 2) speak to a manager to make doubly, triply sure, and 3) make an appointment.

Inevitably, this fails. The parties all arrive, papers and pens in hand, ID's at the ready, and announce their intent to sign their documents and have them notarized. Suddenly, a hush falls over the lobby, and the staff look at each other, wide-eyed with discomfort. It is as if a random solar eclipse has occurred. Doom is possible. Soon, a very pale manager telepathically appears, and speaks this phrase, wincing at every syllable: "Mrs. Reliant, I am SO sorry, we are unable to provide that service at this time." I am not joking when I say that I have seen clients leave banks as customers on the basis of this perceived violation of the code of customer service. Branch manager, say goodbye to the five accounts Mrs. Reliant held at your fine institution! Her kids may be convinced to withdraw their business too (she can be very persuasive). Oh, my Kingdom, for want of a pen.

And, to be clear, lack of a notary when you need it is a huge inconvenience. One day while offsite in an eastern Wisconsin town of healthy mid size, I spent six hours searching for a person who could notarize a simple affidavit I needed to file in court that day (I can't notarize my own signature). And I'm a lawyer! Imagine how frustrating this can be for someone that needs two or more hours to get awake, take medicines, eat, dress, arrange transportation from a friend or adult child who took time off work, all just to get to an appointment that falls through but imminently needs to be completed.

Now, to the Public Service part of this post.

1) It is (sort of) Not Your Bank's Fault. Most banks have now implemented policies that prevent a bank employee who is a notary from notarizing any non-bank prepared document while on the job. Perhaps it is related to liability and risk management, as are many things in banking today. I am asking some trusted colleagues in banking to advise in more detail so watch for Post 2 on this subject.

2) Here is where you CAN typically go: ALWAYS CALL AHEAD!

• A UPS Store, a FedEx Depot, an Office Max

• some (but not all) post offices

• some (but not all) courthouses

• a public library

• your lawyer/ lawyers' offices

The need for a notary is like the need for a bathroom while in dense traffic. One becomes uncomfortably desperate and crabby as options dwindle. At the very least, I hope the post saves banks and their customers from a frustrating encounter the next time a notary is needed.

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Please remember that I am not a lawyer and cannot provide legal advice.