In Pennsylvania, attorneys have the power to sign many documents both as an attorney and as an officer of the Court, and at times have the authority to sign verifications on behalf of clients. However, many legal documents require the signature of a certified notary public.
The role of a notary in many cases is to verify the identity of the person signing a document, often a client, or to perform acknowledgments, certifications or oaths as they relate to legal documents for the client.
Many law offices have notaries on staff, just as we do here at Bononi & Company, because of the amount of legal documents that require notarization by someone who is commissioned to do so.
Being an attorney alone does not provide the power to notarize a document, unless they too are a certified notary public.
If you have any questions about the topic discussed in this article, or any tax or estate law matter, please give us a call at Bononi & Company 724-832-2499.