VIP Divorce Discovery provides a client a notary public who is an officer of the State of Texas.

A notary is a public servant with statewide jurisdiction who is authorized to:

• Take acknowledgments
• Protest instruments permitted by law to be protested  (primarily negotiable instruments and bills and notes)
• Administer oaths
• Take depositions
• Certify copies of documents not recordable in public records

A notary public is conveniently located within a community so that the notary may be of service to the general public. Each notary takes an official oath of office to faithfully perform the duties of the office. To ensure such performance, a notary public is required to post a $10,000 bond with the Secretary of State.

The primary duty of a notary public is to show that a disinterested party (the notary) has duly notified the signer of an instrument as to the importance of such document. The signer of such document has declared that the signer’s identity, signature, and reasons for signing such instrument are genuine.

The signature and seal of a notary public do not prove these facts conclusively, but provide proof of them, and allow persons in trade and commerce to rely on the truth and veracity of the notary public as a trustworthy third party who has no personal interest in the transaction.

A notary public is personally liable for negligence or fraud in the performance of the duties of the office. The bond is to insure that the person injured can recover at least $10,000, but this does not protect the notary public from personal liability for the full extent of damages caused by a breach of official duty.

In addition to civil liability, a notary may be subject to criminal prosecution and the revocation or suspension of their notary public commission by the Secretary of State’s office.

VIP Divorce Discovery’s notary public keeps in a book a record of:

1. Date of each instrument notarized
2. Date of the notarization
3. Name of the signer, grantor, or maker
4. Signer’s, grantor’s, or maker’s residence or alleged residence
5. Whether the signer, grantor, or maker is personally known by the notary public, was identified by an identification card issued by a governmental agency or a passport issued by the United States, or was introduced to the notary, and, if introduced, the name and residence or alleged residence of the individual introducing the signer, grantor, or maker
6. If the instrument is proved by a witness, the residence of the witness, whether the witness is personally known by the notary public or was introduced to the notary  and, if introduced, the name and residence of the individual introducing the witness
7. The name and residence of the grantee
8. If land is conveyed or charged by the instrument, the name of the original grantee and the county where the land is located
9. A brief description of the instrument

Entries in the notary’s book are public information. A notary public provides, on payment of all fees, a certified copy of any record in the notary public’s office to any person requesting the copy.

Texas Government establishes the maximum fees a notary public, or his or her employer, may charge for notary public services.

Note:  A notary public who charges more than the maximum set out below subjects the notary to possible criminal prosecution and suspension or revocation of the notary’s notary public commission by the Secretary of State’s office.

Notaries may charge the following fees: