Electronic Notarization Now Available

Ohio recently implemented the ability for notarizations to take place remotely. With fairly simple and widely used technology, Ohioans can now have documents notarized without leaving the comfort of their homes. Carlile Patchen and Murphy LLP (“CPM”) is pleased to offer this service to clients. As of the time of this writing, our own Brandon Borgman is one of only nine attorney notaries in Franklin County who can provide this service.

In light of the current need for social distancing and the recent stay-at-home order we hope our clients will use this service to sign powers of attorney, affidavits, deeds and other estate planning documents without the need to leave their homes. Some documents, such as a Last Will & Testament have witness requirements and cannot be signed electronically.

The process to have documents remotely notarized by a member of the CPM team is as follows:

1. A document or documents to be notarized are uploaded to a software portal;
2. The notary prompts an email to be sent to the individual needing their document notarized;
3. After opening the email, the individual verifies their identity and is directed to the software portal;
4. Once the notary and signer are in the portal, the notary initiates a video and audio recording via webcam;
5. Once recording starts, both parties have access to view the document(s);
6. The notary places signature lines and a notary stamp on the document, and the signer clicks the document where indicated to perform their electronic signature; and
7. The notary signs and places a notarial stamp on the document or documents, which ends recording and provides the notary with access to the electronically notarized document or documents.

The steps outlined above can be completed in a fairly short amount of time. We believe that offering this service not only provides our clients a great option when scheduling meetings to sign documents, but also provides clients with an opportunity to sign documents when they are unable to meet in-person.

If you have any questions or want to explore the option to have documents remotely notarized, contact your attorney at Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP or any member of the Family Wealth & Estate Planning Group.