Is it worth the small inconvenience of following required notary procedure to protect your process and parties?
Louisiana courts rely on laws to make judgments in civil, criminal, and appeals matters requiring that the transactions and documents involved be done in proper form, authenticated, and possess solemnity for the facts.
The notary imprimatur provides the judge with this absolute assurance because the notary took an oath of office that all has been done in accordance with the law. If a notarized document is challenged and found NOT to have been done according to law, the case could be dismissed or ruled against with or without damages or awards, the parties and notary could be subject to penalties, fines, and/or imprisonment, and the notary could be removed from office. Notaries' responsibility is as high as their trust, and a notary who officially certified as true what he knows to be false violates his duty.
So yes, the inconvenience is worth it!
- All parties of the transaction/document must appear before the notary, be sober, not interdicted, and for most acts be 18 or over.
- All parties must have a government-issued photo ID and show it to the notary for verification.
- No sales price negotiations should be done in front of the notary.
- You may need to know your address and parish of residency and domicile, and marital history and date of changes, when it comes to acts involving immovable property.
- All parties must sign the document in front of the notary and witnesses prior to the notary’s imprimatur.
- The written date must be the current date at the time of the signing.
- You may need to bring 2 witnesses depending on the type of notarial act to be done.
- Although the Louisiana notary has been called “the common man’s lawyer” the notary cannot provide legal advice.