An affidavit is a very powerful, crucial, and evidentiary legal document. When notarizing an affidavit, certain stringent requirements and legal obligations have to be met by both the person making an affidavit and the notary. However, if you stay in California, mobile notaries in Orange County or Cerritos, make the entire process easy for you.
Although, the gravity and importance are always kept intact. It is the professionalism of a notary agent that makes it look so simple. Let us understand what an affidavit is in the first place, and how can a notary help in this case.
Affidavit – a brief explanation
An affidavit is a written document stating under an oath that everything contained in the document is truthful. It is sworn under an oath and is used for legal purposes. The affidavit is used along with other evidencing documents and statements of witnesses to derive the truthfulness of a particular statement.
An affidavit must be notarized by an authorized notary for it to become legal and evidential. Mobile notaries in Orange County and other places ensure that all the procedures to notarize an affidavit are followed at the convenience of a place of your choice.
The person filing an affidavit is known as the affiant. An affiant swears under oath in front of the Court or legal proceedings officer that the information and factual contents in an affidavit are true and correct to the best of their knowledge, and that there is no intention to breach or misguide the Court.
An affidavit thus becomes a vital legal document due to the value of its truthfulness and the act of swearing in. It may also be used in various criminal and civil cases. An affidavit becomes a crucial document for many court proceedings, corporate and business transactions, etc.
How can a notary help with an affidavit?
Since an affidavit is a legal document with a high evidentiary value, it needs to be notarized to be legally effective and deemed to be an evidentiary document. It is important to note that any stationary or mobile notary in Orange County, or anywhere else for that matter, always verifies that a particular document was signed in front of them.
Thus, a notary is not responsible for the correctness, fairness, or truthfulness of the contents of the affidavit. But, the fact that an affidavit is notarized means that the document was signed by the person whose identity was checked and verified, and they are indeed the same person who they claim to be.
Therefore, the affiant filing for an affidavit must appear in front of the notary. If California is your state of residence and you stay in or around Orange County, the mobile notaries in Orange County can make the process easy for you.
Further, a notarial requirement for affidavit and their extents and procedures may vary among various states depending on the particular state’s rules and regulations. However, in general, the notary public must ensure that – the documents-
- The affidavit documents are signed by the affiant in front of them.
- The affidavit is signed after the notary has verified and cross-checked the legal identity of the signer i.e., the affiant, whose signature is being notarized on the affidavit.
- The document does not have any blank spaces left to be filled out later.
- The documents, or any contents thereof, have not been altered or whited out and do not contain any distortion or tampering that could lead to suspicion and render the affidavit false.
- The signers have willingly signed the documents and were not coerced, cajoled, or misguided to sign them.
- All the signers are of sound mind and understand the contents of the affidavit they are signing.
- They understand the seriousness of the oath they are swearing upon.
When a notary signs the affidavit, they must also complete the formal notarial procedures, such as issuing a notarial certificate with the notarized affidavit signed before them. The notarial certificate is known as a jurat that is attached to the affidavit. The jurat contains the information and details about the notarial act. The details such as the date, time, and place of notarization, and in front of whom, the affidavit was sworn in and signed, etc., are recorded.
Further, a notary must also record the notarization in their official record book or notary journal. The detailed and elaborate procedure makes a notarized affidavit a crucial document as legal evidence for Court proceedings and various record-keeping purposes.
Wrap Up
A mobile notary is simply a notary public officer on the move. Since notarial procedures are carried out in front of a certified notary, traditionally, one would have to visit the notary’s office to get a document notarized.
With the advent of modern ways of communicating and transacting, one can get an affidavit or any other document notarized at their home, office, or any other public place where the notary will visit, verify and notarize the documents.
For the residents of Orange County, it becomes easy with the services of a mobile notary. Now, you can get an affidavit notarized by a mobile notary in Orange County where you would not be required to travel for notarization. Rather, you can get it done at a time and place of your choice.