OneBlueMoon Asked April 2020
Acceptable time lapse between signing a durable POA with 2 witnesses' signatures and notarizing?
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If the durable POA has been signed 2 years ago with 2 witnesses, is it still acceptable to have it notarized now as well to add more validation?
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Why wasn't it notarized during the signing?
Any notarization now, if you could find someone with no scruples, would only raise questions as to the validity of the document, something I also question.
Could I still take the witnesses with me to the notary?
If it was done by a lawyer, I would expect that it would have been properly witnessed and notarized at the time.
Is this a financial POA or for health care or both?
Was the person competent at the time it was produced? If yes, who attested to that?
I see all sorts of red flags here.
The forms for POA requires 2 witnesses or notary or both. At that time we chose 2 witnesses but recently someone suggested to notarize it too since then we don't have to deal with any headaches in some institutions. That's all! Just wondering if we have to do it all over again or not!
Witnesses merely do that: witness. They don't acknowledge or verify that the individual who executed the document was in fact the same individual who created it and is named at the beginning of the document.
The standard acknowledgment states that:
1. The individual named and who created the document is in fact the same person who signed.
2. This is a shortened version of the standard acknowledgment:
https://www.standardlegal.com/ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.pdf
It affirms that the signer appeared before the notary. That's the only way that the document you have will be considered legitimate and properly executed.
This is a friendly warning: you're flirting with fraud if you ask or have any notary acknowledge a signature when that notary in fact apparently never did so when the document was executed.
What's the real story here? Is the person who executed the document deceased, diagnosed with dementia? Something else going on?
Call a local law office and ask what methods are available to get paperwork notarized in your state at this time if the person is still legally competent to sign. If they aren't, ask what Plan B should be.
You have responded to at least three of us with the same post, but you have not answered the question where did you get the POA forms from? You say they state that they need two witnesses or a notary, but are you sure that the forms are even valid in your state/province?
Is the person under the POA competent to sign new properly executed documents? If yes, then I think this is your best bet.
First contact the insurance companies, banks etc, so see what sort of documentation they need. No point in doing it over using a form that will not be accepted.
Are you looking at healthcare agreements too?
"This is mainly for release of information by some institutions like insurance etc., since the person has nothing to even consider the POA to be a fraud!"
The only reason an insurance company or a bank need proof of POA is when the principle is not able to handle their finances even by phone. In other words they have a Dementia. If they can talk on the phone, there is no need for a POA.
In all it also depends on how the POA reads. Is it immediate or springing. Springing means the person has to be incompetent to handle there own finances. Usually a doctors letter is required.
One place I dealt with need a Medallion from my Bank. They would not except a POA.
I beg to differ. In dealing with my Moms finances and placing her in LTC, I was required to prove I had it. There was a copy at her bank. A copy at the NH. I had to send a copy to the insurance company. Anyone I dealt with in her name wanted a copy before they would deal with me. Why would anyone take your word u have POA. One financial institution wanted a letter from a lawyer stating that a POA from 2007 was still valid in 2017.
Is the person who assigned POA incompetent? If the person has died, the POA is invalid. The Executor of the Will is now the responsible party. No Will, then someone needs to go to Probate and become the Administrator.
This post will linger on as people who've not yet posted will continue to post, but I doubt if the OP will in fact return .
JoAnn, this is what BlueMoon wrote 22 hours ago:
"The forms for POA requires 2 witnesses or notary or both. At that time we chose 2 witnesses but recently someone suggested to notarize it too since then we don't have to deal with any headaches in some institutions. That's all! Just wondering if we have to do it all over again or not!"