Identify Mental Competence Before Notarizing

I’m sure that most notaries know that they need to identify the mental competence of a client before notarizing the document.

We do this by observing the signer. Engaging in conversation will usually help us to affirm that the individual is competent to complete the notarial process. Let’s remember, we are not a psychologist. It is not our job to assert a professional opinion. However, giving today’s world, with its hunger for litigation, we need to take adequate precautions to protect ourselves. Therefore, we need to determine that the signer has an understanding as to why they appeared in front of us, and that they want a document executed.

Simply put, we not only have a legal responsibility, but also an ethical one, to prevent potential fraud. We need to make sure they person before us is not a minor, and that they are not signing the document under duress.

As I’ve stated above, we are not psychologists. Furthermore, we are only spending a few minutes with the individual. But, we need to exercise reasonable care to identify the mental competence of the signer.

Factors that could affect mental Competence

There are many factors that could affect a person’s mental competence. For Example:

• Alcohol – Although unlikely, but not impossible, the signer could appear before you in an intoxicated state.
• Drugs – Even prescription and over-the-counter drugs can affect mental competence. It’s not just illegal drugs that we need to be concerned with.
• The Elderly – We certainly cannot deprive someone of their right to obtain a notarization. But, as we all know, as people age their ability to process and understand information becomes diminished. So, if an elderly person appears before us, we need to assess their understanding of why they are there.

So, we need to remember to identify the mental competence of the signer before notarizing any document.

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