Notary vs Lawyer for NFA Trust

[JadeRaven]

Not so. an attorney cannot notarize his own signature, but it is extremely common for the attorney drafting the document to notarize the signatures of the parties.

Dan

Says who?

 

[JadeRaven]

A notary may be able to draft various documents for you, but typically he cannot render you legal advice unless he/she is an attorney as well.

Also most notaries do not have significant experience drafting trusts of significant complexity.

 

[nolaradio]

Also, I've noticed a past thread on here where an attorney (mouthpiece) drafted a NFA trust for another member and the member was then looking for someone to notarize the document…since all Louisiana lawyers are also notaries, why wouldn't the lawyer who drafted the doc be able to notarize it as well?

Instead of all this speculation as to why mouthpiece didn't notarize the document, why not just ask him?

 

[russinbr]

I believe that the OP is in reference to a post I made last year. Mouthpiece wrote my trust. I live in BR so I tried to find someone to notarize it locally. Each of the notaries either refused to do trusts or anything to do with class III items. After posting my about my experience and asking for assistance JCcypress offered to complete the notarization for me. My wife and I were able to meet with him that day at his office. Thanks JC it was great to meet a fellow BS'r.

 

[JadeRaven]

I believe that the OP is in reference to a post I made last year. Mouthpiece wrote my trust. I live in BR so I tried to find someone to notarize it locally. Each of the notaries either refused to do trusts or anything to do with class III items. After posting my about my experience and asking for assistance JCcypress offered to complete the notarization for me. My wife and I were able to meet with him that day at his office. Thanks JC it was great to meet a fellow BS'r.

Yeah a lot of most notaries are dummies.

Sometimes the ones at walmart are good since they'll notarize practically anything.

 

[sportsbud]

All a notary should really be is verifying that the signature on the paper is from who it says to be.

 

[Gilbee]

Guys, I'm not talking about a notary who is unsure of how to do this...the newer statewide notary exams cover creation of trusts, and the exam is rather difficult for the uninitiated as it includes drafting documents like this from scratch. I don't think I'd feel uneasy about one of these notaries doing it, but I may have caution about an older single parish commission notary, as the exam from parish to parish varied wildly. A statewide notary is supposed to be able to draft most legal documents as an attorney can, but they cannot represent you in court or give legal advice.

All I wanted to know is if anyone had gone the notary route for the entire thing (drafting and notarization), as opposed to an attorney. Opinions aside, it would undoubtedly be lower cost than a typical attorney. I suspect many lawyers even have in house paralegal/notaries write these anyway, and are then reviewed by an attorney as a formality.

It appears no one has done this, or they are not willing to speak up.

Thanks guys.

 

[Mouthpiece]

It is most likely a distance or timing thing. I do NFA trusts and other documents for clients all over the state. If their getting to my office or other location to meet me is not convenient from a distance or schedule standpoint, I just email the document to the client and have them execute it in front of their local notary.

Dan

This. I am always happy to notarize any trust I prepare. However, many folks I prepare trusts for are far from New Orleans. In that case, I send them the trust with instructions for taking it to a local notary, which is more convenient for them.

 

[charliepapa]

I went the LLC route so as far as a Trust, I can't say who's signatures are required. Thanks for the clarification. The last thing I want to do is add to the confusion on a very simple process.

what are pros/cons of using LLC as owner of trust? wouldn't that allow for all members of the LLC to possess items owned by trust or would each member still have to be listed individually on trust doc?

 

[freedive10]

what are pros/cons of using LLC as owner of trust? wouldn't that allow for all members of the LLC to possess items owned by trust or would each member still have to be listed individually on trust doc?

http://www.bayoushooter.com/forums/showthread.php?40662-NFA-ownership-Trust-vs-LLC-vs-Individual

 

[Brad Scott]

To answer the original question, which was restated by the original poster:

Guys, I'm not talking about a notary who is unsure of how to do this...the newer statewide notary exams cover creation of trusts, and the exam is rather difficult for the uninitiated as it includes drafting documents like this from scratch. I don't think I'd feel uneasy about one of these notaries doing it, but I may have caution about an older single parish commission notary, as the exam from parish to parish varied wildly. A statewide notary is supposed to be able to draft most legal documents as an attorney can, but they cannot represent you in court or give legal advice.
All I wanted to know is if anyone had gone the notary route for the entire thing (drafting and notarization), as opposed to an attorney. Opinions aside, it would undoubtedly be lower cost than a typical attorney. I suspect many lawyers even have in house paralegal/notaries write these anyway, and are then reviewed by an attorney as a formality.
It appears no one has done this, or they are not willing to speak up.
Thanks guys.

You should choose an attorney over a notary for a few reasons:
1) A notary cannot give you legal advice. Going to a notary would be the same as filling in info for an online form created trust. Garbage in, garbage out. A notary cannot advise you if your trust should include any additional provisions based on your unique circumstances.
2) Liability insurance. Attorney's carry it - and usually have good limits. I am not sure if notaries are required to carry it. If an attorney screws up your trust and you get in trouble, his insurance should pay your legal bills to make it right. Even if a notary has insurance, he did not provide you with advice, so it is unlikely he would be liable (unless his forms just really suck).
3) You really can't be saving THAT much money, if any at all. Ask / call around, and go to attorney websites to see what they charge for trusts.