Notarizing estate documents in California
Trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives and deeds, notarized at your home, the office, or a hospital bedside.
Estate paperwork is the work we do most. Living trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, grant deeds and trust transfer deeds, notarized wherever it suits you: your home, the Pleasanton office, your attorney's office, or a hospital or care home.
These packages have moving parts. Different pages need different things. Some need a thumbprint. Some need witnesses that you have to bring yourself. We go through the package page by page, in order, so nothing is missed and you do not need a second appointment.
Notarization is $10 for each document notarized, covering up to two signers. Tell us roughly how many documents when you call and you get the total before you book.
Now booking. Call (925) 319-8855.
Which documents need a notaryLink to this section
| Document | Notary needed? |
|---|---|
| Revocable living trust | Not required by law, but almost always done |
| Durable power of attorney | A notary or two witnesses (Probate Code 4121) |
| Advance health care directive | A notary or two witnesses (Probate Code 4673) |
| Grant deed | Yes. Required before the county will record it (Government Code 27287) |
| Trust transfer deed | Yes. Same rule as any other deed |
| Certification of trust | Yes. The statute asks for an acknowledged declaration (Probate Code 18100.5) |
| Last will and testament | No. A will needs two witnesses (Probate Code 6110) |
| Affidavit of death of trustee | Yes |
Each document above has its own page with the ID rules, the thumbprint rule and what usually goes wrong. Notarizing over video is not available to California notaries.
Notary and witness are not the same thingLink to this section
A notary stamp does not count as a witness signature. They are two different jobs. A notary checks who you are and stamps the document. A witness watches you sign and signs it too. Under California law a will has to be signed by at least two witnesses who are present at the same time, and a notary stamp does not replace them.
| Notary | Witness | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Commissioned by the State of California | Any adult |
| Does what | Checks ID, records it in a journal, stamps the document | Watches you sign, then signs the document too |
| Training required | Yes | No |
Some documents need both. Below is how California generally works, so nothing surprises you on the day. Your own document and your attorney are the authority on your situation.
A willLink to this section
It has to be witnessed by at least two people. Both have to be there at the same time, both have to see you sign or hear you say the signature is yours, and both have to understand the document is your will. That is Probate Code 6110. Notarizing it does not do that job.
Pick witnesses who inherit nothing under the will. If a witness is left something, California law presumes they got it by pressure or fraud unless two other disinterested witnesses also signed, and they may have to prove otherwise in court. That is Probate Code 6112.
California has no self-proving affidavit. In many states you attach a notarized affidavit to a will so nobody has to track the witnesses down later. California does not work that way. A will is proved in court by a written statement from one of the witnesses who signed it (Probate Code 8220). A notary seal does not do that job, so notarizing a California will adds a cost and adds nothing.
A handwritten will is different again. If the signature and all the important terms are in your own handwriting, it can be valid with no witnesses and no notary (Probate Code 6111).
A notary cannot certify a copy of a will. The only copies a California notary may certify are a power of attorney (Probate Code 4307) and their own journal entries (Government Code 8205). For a copy of a will, ask the attorney who holds the original.
If you have a living trust you probably also have a pour-over will. It is still a will. It still needs two witnesses, not a notary. At a trust signing it is usually the one document on the table where the notary steps back.
A living trustLink to this section
Usually notarized. Witnesses are often not required, but some trust documents ask for them anyway. Read yours, or ask your attorney. Notarizing a living trust →
Signing the trust is only half the job. A trust only controls property that has actually been put into it, and for a house that means a trust transfer deed →. To retitle a bank account you will usually be asked for a certification of trust →.
A power of attorneyLink to this section
Normally notarized. A document has to be acknowledged before a notary before a county recorder will record it, so a power of attorney meant for a property transaction needs the stamp (Government Code 27287).
Expect to give a thumbprint. California requires the notary to take the signer's right thumbprint in the journal for a power of attorney, a deed, or any document affecting real property (Government Code 8206). This is standard everywhere in the state. Notarizing a power of attorney →
An advance healthcare directiveLink to this section
You need either a notary or two qualifying witnesses. Not both. That is Probate Code 4673.
If you use witnesses, California says who cannot be one (Probate Code 4674):
- Not your healthcare provider, and not one of their employees
- Not the operator or an employee of a community care facility
- Not the operator or an employee of a residential care facility for the elderly
- Not the person you named as your healthcare agent
There is one more rule. At least one of the two witnesses has to be someone who is not related to you by blood, marriage or adoption, and who inherits nothing from you. So a daughter can be one witness, but she cannot be both.
And if the person signing is a patient in a skilled nursing facility, a patient advocate or ombudsman has to sign as a witness too, either as one of the two witnesses or on top of the notarization (Probate Code 4675). Notarizing an advance health care directive →
"I cannot find two witnesses"Link to this section
This is the problem people hit most often with estate paperwork. Your attorney has prepared the documents, and now you need two adults who are not family, in one room, on a weekday.
You need to bring your own witnesses. We notarize, but we do not supply witnesses.
Bring two adults who are not named in the document and who do not inherit from it. They must be in the room at the same time as you when you sign.
What the appointment looks likeLink to this section
It takes 30 to 60 minutes, sometimes longer for a full package.
- Everyone arrives: you, any other signers, the witnesses.
- Photo ID is checked for everyone.
- The package is gone through page by page, sorting out which pages need a notary and which need witnesses. They are usually different pages.
- You sign each page, in order, in front of the right people.
- You give a thumbprint for the power of attorney and anything involving property.
- Each certificate is filled in and stamped.
- You leave with everything.
Cost: $10 for each document notarized. Page count does not change it — a twelve-page trust with one acknowledgment is one signature. Estate packages usually have several documents — the trust, the deed and the powers of attorney. Tell us roughly how many when you call and you get the total before you book. Pricing →
WhereLink to this section
Most of these happen at home, around a table, because the family is already there. The Pleasanton office works too, as do attorneys' offices and hospitals and care homes.
What a notary cannot doLink to this section
Cannot tell you what your documents mean. Not one line of them. That is legal advice, and a notary who is not an attorney cannot give it.
Cannot tell you whether to sign, who to name, or whether your trust is set up properly.
Cannot draft anything or fix anything. A missing page stays missing.
Cannot pick your witnesses for you. General California requirements, yes. Whether your neighbour qualifies for your document, no.
If this is a significant estate and you do not have an attorney, get one before you sign. Notarizing a bad document does not make it a good one.
When the person signing is elderly or unwellLink to this section
The signer has to understand what they are signing and want to sign it. If someone is confused, or seems to be signing because a relative is pushing them, the notary has to stop.
In practice that means taking time, talking to the person directly instead of about them, and being honest with the family about what the notary sees.
If you are genuinely unsure whether your parent still has the capacity to sign, talk to an elder law attorney before you book anyone.
Five questions to ask your attorney firstLink to this section
Two minutes on the phone saves you a second appointment.
- Which pages need a notary?
- Which pages need witnesses, and how many?
- Can family be the witnesses, or do they have to be outsiders?
- Does anything need an acknowledgment rather than a jurat?
- Does anything have to be recorded with the county afterwards?
BookLink to this section
Call (925) 319-8855.
General California requirements, explained so you know what to expect. Not legal advice, and this is not a law firm. Talk to an estate attorney about your own documents.