There's a lot of confusion with regard to whether California notaries are permitted to notarize wills. Many notaries are under the impression that they are prohibited by law from doing so, that wills must be handled only by a lawyer. That's simply not true.
As a notary, you can notarize wills. Just make sure that you don't try to provide any legal advice to the client, and that two impartial witnesses also sign. And it would be appropriate for you to tell the client that notarizing the will does not necessarily validate it. If the will is not prepared properly, it could be invalidated, regardless of whether it is notarized.
Lawyers would like you to believe that they are the only ones qualified to prepare wills. But that, too, is simply untrue. Many people prepare perfectly valid wills without any legal assistance whatsoever. And many wills prepared by lawyers are overturned in courts of law because of the lawyer's very costly mistakes.
If you're uncertain or uncomfortable, you're probably better off saying no. As with all notarizations, use your best judgment.
Joel
http://www.drivenotary.com
http://www.sundancenotary.com
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