Formerly, when someone wanted a public document such as a court judgment or acknowledgment by a notary recognized in another country, it was necessary to go through a cumbersome process of authentication known as...more
Unusual times call for unusual measures. On May 4, 2020, the North Carolina General Assembly passed Session Law 2020-3 to relax the legal requirements associated with the execution of estate planning and other legal...more
In Executive Order 20-12 issued Tuesday, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson suspended certain requirements for witnessing and notarization of legal documents in order to limit in-person encounters and face-to-face meetings in...more
These are unprecedented times for all of us. We continue to receive directives, orders, and suggestions from our local, state and federal governments and their agencies, most of which continue to place additional restrictions...more
In the latest in the string of Executive Orders signed under Section 29-a of Article 2-B of the Executive Law which allows the Governor to "issue directives during a disaster emergency necessary to cope with the disaster," on...more
You better watch out. You better not pout. Better not cry. I’m telling you why. New notary acknowledgement forms are coming to town. The Florida Legislature amended the requirements for notary acknowledgement forms effective...more
Arizona passed Senate Bill 1030, which authorizes Arizona notaries to perform remote online notarizations, known as “RON.” RON becomes effective as of June 30, 2020. What is Remote Online Notarization (RON)?...more
In December 2018, now former Governor Kasich signed into law S.B. 263, also known as the Notary Public Modernization Act. The act overhauls Ohio’s notary laws and will allow documents to be notarized online through...more
With a new year comes a new General Assembly. Bills that the 132nd General Assembly did not pass will have to be reintroduced if legislators want to pursue those issues in the 133rd General Assembly. ...more
While it may be hard for some to believe, we are rapidly approaching an important anniversary: Jan. 1, 2019 will mark one year from the date the North Carolina Uniform Power of Attorney Act (codified as Chapter 32C of the...more
A new Michigan law may streamline real estate transactions by allowing remote electronic notarization. The law, Act 330 of 2018, was signed by Gov. Rick Snyder on June 28, 2018. It amends the Michigan Notary Public Act and...more
Introduction - In some cross-border transactions the procurement and authentication of “public documents” from international jurisdictions can be a time-consuming bottleneck. ...more
Anyone who deals with interests in real estate should be aware that Idaho recently adopted a new set of laws governing notaries and acknowledgments. This is important because Idaho law gives special protection to interests in...more
Although much wealth passes today through trusts and beneficiary designations, we occasionally handle California probate disputes that turn on the validity of wills, sometimes involving high value estates....more
It took almost 2 years, but finally this past October 2016, technical corrections were signed into law to address the problems for commercial powers of attorney that arose by virtue of the 2014 Amendments to the Title 20 PA...more
Massachusetts is notorious for having hyper-technical rules about notarization. The trouble started in 2009 with the bankruptcy case of Matthew H. Giroux. ...more
Last Friday, I discussed the ramifications of affixing a secretary’s certificate to a deed or instrument conveying or otherwise transferring any assets of a corporation. Today’s post covers the legal effect of obtaining a...more
Massachusetts bankruptcy courts have invalidated mortgages containing defects, including the failure of lenders to observe strict formalities in the execution of mortgage acknowledgements. See our prior post on this very...more