What Naples sends me
The requests that come most often from this part of Florida:
- Trust and estate documents prepared by an attorney.
- Powers of attorney, with the two witnesses Florida requires.
- Property transfers between family members.
- Affidavits for banks, pensions and insurers.
- Documents heading to Europe and Canada.
Worth knowing in Naples
Trust and estate work is the local pattern, and those documents are the ones most likely to be challenged later, which is exactly why the formalities around witnesses and capacity deserve attention.
A deed transferring Collier County property is recorded with its own Clerk of the Circuit Court, and the documentary stamp tax is paid there rather than to me.
Wills have their own strict rules and belong with an attorney, and they are also among the documents that generally cannot be handled in a remote online session.
How an online session works
You book a time, and I send a secure link, usually for the same day or the next, and the platform then checks your identification and asks a few questions drawn from public records, before we meet on video, where I confirm you understand what you are signing and that nobody is pressuring you.
You sign electronically, I complete the notarial certificate, and you download the finished document with its seal and audit trail, all of which normally takes about fifteen minutes.
What you need
- A phone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone.
- A current, government-issued photo ID.
- The document, complete and unsigned.
- Confirmation from the office receiving it that they accept an electronic notarization.
In person, honestly
I am based in Lakeland and travel inside Polk County, so I do not drive to Naples for a signing, so if your document has to be signed on paper in front of a notary, look for a mobile notary there, and if it can be done online, we can start today.
Frequently asked questions
- Do you travel to Naples?
- No, I travel inside Polk County only, and everything else is done in an online session, which is valid across Florida and carries the same legal weight as signing in person.
- Is an online notarization valid here?
- Yes, Florida authorized remote online notarization in 2020, and a document notarized this way has the same effect as one notarized across a desk, though the office receiving it can still ask for paper.
- Can a will be notarized online?
- No, wills carry their own formalities in Florida and are one of the usual exclusions from remote online notarization, so speak to an attorney about how yours must be executed.
- Our attorney drafted the documents — what do you do?
- I verify identity, confirm the signer understands and is acting freely, witness the signatures and complete the certificates, which is the part that makes the execution hold up.