Hi, this is Laura with CoachMeLaura.com and At Your Service Mobile Notary.

Today I want to chat with you a little bit about general notary appointments. There are questions that you should be thinking of when you get that phone call to take an appointment! 

As you know, loan signings are different. You get the documents ahead of time so you know what you have before you get there. The fees are already arranged. You're told who the signer is. Pretty much, you usually get most of the information you need.

When you have a general appointment, meaning somebody from the public who's calling for your service, you may not get everything you need unless you ask. So I have about 10 questions that may apply in any given situation to ensure that one, you don't make a wasted trip, two, you've negotiated the appropriate fee and quoted the appropriate fee for that client. And three, if there's going to be any extra things necessary, like witnesses for signature by mark or credible witnesses for...

Hi, this is Laura with Coachmelaura.com.

I am frequently asked questions on different topics that really befuddle notaries! They're not sure how to take care of it! And today, I'd like to talk to you about one that's asked of me frequently and it's how do I handle a foreign language document.

Now, whether you're the public trying to get a document notarized or you're a notary and you're being presented with a document to be notarized, there are some simple rules to follow. Now I will identify Arizona. That state is a little different because their law for notaries explicitly allows them to use translators and it makes the whole thing easier. But for the other 49 States, it's not so clear what you do. So these are the three things I want you to remember.

One is to observe the document for completeness. Are there blank spaces where words belong or are there missing page numbers at the bottom? The signer? it's their job to take care of those blank spaces or missing pages.

The second...

Hi this is Laura with At Your Service Mobile Notary and CoachMeLaura.com and I thought you would like to be part of my journey as I get ready to be sworn in for my fifth commission! I’ll be recording my bond as well as be taking my oath.

I am so excited - this is the fifth time I've done it, but I gotta tell you, every time it really excites me to know that I'm participating in my government and that I'm a public official - and that once again, I'll be serving the public!

Follow me inside and see what one goes through as the process unfolds to be sworn in as a Notary.

(See Video - Verifying the documents, Recording the bond, Taking the oath)

I have officially been sworn in and I have accepted my office as a Notary. This new commission officially starts on Tuesday the thirteenth, as my previous commission does not expire until Monday. I’m so very excited now!

I need to go back and update all of my clients. The signing companies, title companies, all the people who rely on my info...

Hello, I'm Laura Biewer a California Notary and founder of At Your Service Mobile Notary and the mentoring service CoachMeLaura.com.

Last week I spoke to you about being certain the ID that you take meets the requirements of your state. Today, I'm following up with that to talk more about another particular type of ID - that is the REAL ID! 

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Did you know for notarization, not one state requires the REAL ID? In order to notarize as notaries, we handle IDs every day. For some of us, there's 'suggestions' about the ID to meet satisfactory evidence. For others, there's a little more 'suggestion.'For instance, 'a government issued ID that has a photo and a signature.' And of course for some of us, like California, there's a specific list that has to been named and the ID has to have certain requirements. So depending on where you're at, your requirements will be a little different. 

But none of us are REQUIRED to utilize a REAL ID driver's license or st...

Good morning. This is Laura with CoachmeLaura.com and At Your Service Mobile Notary.

Today I want to talk to you about one particular topic called 'Success is in the Details.' The specific area of detail I'd like to talk about today is identification of the signer.

I took care of a loan signing appointment this last weekend and it should have been easy peasy. No problem. It was close to my house. It was a small refinance package - it all looked good. The problem I had, when I got there, is that the ID he handed me, although it was valid and on my list of IDs, did not have all the requirements for that card to be acceptable for notarization. Now I have to say this guy was shocked. He was upset because he purchased his house using that card, and any refinancing as well.

And now here I am, the third notary to come along and I'm telling him no, it wasn't a valid ID to begin with for notarization. And he's probably thinking, well, 'who's telling me the truth? The first two notaries or ...

Hi, this is Laura with At Your Service Mobile Notary and CoachMeLaura.com.

I noticed something recently and thought this would be a good thing to share with you. I want to share something I learned about digital assets and the challenge to manage them in case of incapacity or death.

But first, what is a digital asset?

So we might think of somebody's assets as an estate, and we think of our bank accounts, and we think of our real estate, and we might think of our business interests, and all the personal belongings that are in our house. However, most of us are impacted by, or utilize, information that is stored in electronic form.

So digital assets have changed the way we plan and manage what we own! As usual, technology moves faster than the laws to manage it! So a digital asset means ANY type of stored information on ANY kind of device. It includes content that is uploaded to the internet.

For instance, an internet domain name is an electronic asset. Your commercial loyalty ...

Hi, this is Laura. 

I'm with CoachMeLaura.com and At Your Service Mobile Notary (www.atyourservicemobilenotary.com). I have been recently posting announcements about my next meetup on Facebook and LinkedIn. Amongst the RSVPs, we're getting lots of questions about 'when will you have a meetup near me in my area?' So I thought it's a good time to explain what a meetup is and how they work.

First of all, a 'meetup' is just a platform - at www.meetup.com - for people who have a common interest to get together on some kind of basis to have fun with that particular topic. And the idea is to use the internet to actually set things up to meet face to face. It's been around probably since the early two thousands. I started my meetup group in 2009. By the way, I started with three, just three people!

Now the first thing I would do is try to find one - find a group - see if there's one already in your area and join it! 

There's no cost to join. There is a minimal cost to host it, meaning th...

 *Partial Transcript Follows, see video for full information*

Welcome!

I am so excited today because I get to do something with you, I feel that I don't get to do very often, which is a one-on-one - just you and me to talk! I love that you're in the position of interviewing somebody - else so now you're in the hot seat and it's a chance for you to share with us some of your thoughts!

What I'd like to do first is introduce myself. My name is Laura and I'm the founder of www.CoachMeLaura.com and At Your Service Mobile Notary.

I've been in this business a long time I have seen quite a few books that have come along to help notaries in one way or another. Many of those authors are notaries themselves but I found when I read yours that it was a little bit different than the others! it wasn't just a technical manual. It really didn't stop at giving some practical ideas or information. It also is only part of what you do - so there's a lot more to you that I'd like to find out about tod...

Good evening! My name is Laura Biewer and I am the founder of www.CoachMeLaura.com and owner of At Your Service Mobile Notary.

I want to talk to you tonight about last Wills and Testaments, but before I do, I just need to give you the legal disclosure that I'm not an attorney and I cannot give you legal advice.

What I do want to share is based on my experience with customers approaching me about getting their will notarized. What you need to know is that two witnesses are the requirement for wills in almost every single state. Now one state does require three, and there may be a couple of States that require notarization on top of the witnesses, but for the most part, the two witnesses and the will maker's signatures are all that's required.

You can notarize a will under different conditions. One would be that there's an attestation clause. An attestation clause is simply going to state that the will maker and witness one and witness two were all in each other's presence at the ti...

Hi this is Laura with CoachMeLaura.com and owner of At Your Service Mobile Notary.

Today, I want to talk to you about being a notary.

As the notary, I serve the public. But what makes me a little more special than other notaries, is that I serve my clients whenever and wherever they need me!

As a traditional notary, you usually go to a bank or to a shipping center (during business hours), to take care of their document. With me, I'll go to my clients after hours, on Sunday, I'll meet them wherever it's convenient for them. Now, that could be the mall, their home, their office, it might be a hospital, or it might even mean that I go to jail!

Yeah, I do go to jail, usually a couple times a week. It's a good thing they let me out!

Being mobile gives me some extra ability to serve the public.

You might ask, "what is it that they would need notarized in jail? Well, they might need documents notarized - like a quit claim deed or it might be a permission to for their children to trav...