NE Notary - Nebraska Notary Prohibited Acts and Conflicts Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Nebraska notary is asked to notarize a document for their step-sibling. According to Nebraska law, what is the correct action for the notary to take?
- Proceed with the notarization as long as the notary is not a party to the transaction.
- Refuse to notarize the document. (Correct answer)
- Proceed with the notarization but disclose the relationship in the notarial certificate.
- Ask another notary in the office to perform the notarization as a professional courtesy.
Correct answer: Refuse to notarize the document.
Nebraska Revised Statute 64-105.01 explicitly disqualifies a notary from performing a notarial act if the principal is a spouse, ancestor, descendant, or sibling, which includes in-law, step, or half relatives. Therefore, notarizing for a step-sibling is prohibited.
Question 2: Which of the following situations represents a prohibited financial or beneficial interest for a Nebraska notary, disqualifying them from performing the notarization?
- Notarizing a document for a regular client of their employer, where the only compensation is the standard notarial fee.
- Notarizing a co-worker's signature on a personal car title transfer.
- Notarizing the signature of a seller on a real estate deed for a property the notary is purchasing. (Correct answer)
- Notarizing an affidavit for an employee of the same large corporation, related to a different department's project.
Correct answer: Notarizing the signature of a seller on a real estate deed for a property the notary is purchasing.
A notary is disqualified if they have a financial or beneficial interest in the transaction beyond the ordinary notarial fee or are individually named as a party. Purchasing the property makes the notary a direct party to the transaction with a significant financial interest, which is a clear conflict of interest.
Question 3: A client presents a document to a Nebraska notary but is unsure which type of notarial certificate (e.g., acknowledgment or jurat) is required. If the notary is not a licensed attorney, which of the following is a prohibited act?
- Showing the client the different standard certificate wordings and asking them to choose.
- Advising the client to contact the document's originator or an attorney for guidance.
- Refusing to notarize until the client determines which certificate is needed.
- Selecting the jurat certificate for the client because it seems more appropriate for the document. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Selecting the jurat certificate for the client because it seems more appropriate for the document.
According to Nebraska Revised Statute 64-105.03, a notary who is not an attorney is prohibited from determining the type of notarial act or certificate to be used if the document does not provide it. Selecting the certificate for the signer constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.
Question 4: A Nebraska notary is also a licensed real estate agent. They have just closed a sale where they represented the seller. The buyer now needs a signature notarized on a separate, unrelated home warranty application. Which statement is true regarding this notarization?
- The notary is prohibited from notarizing because they were involved in the recent property sale.
- The notary can perform the notarization because the home warranty application is a separate transaction in which they have no direct financial interest. (Correct answer)
- The notary must have another agent from their brokerage perform the notarization.
- The notary can only perform the notarization if they waive the notarial fee.
Correct answer: The notary can perform the notarization because the home warranty application is a separate transaction in which they have no direct financial interest.
A notary is disqualified if they have a financial or beneficial interest in the specific transaction being notarized. Since the home warranty application is a separate transaction from the property sale and the notary has no direct interest in it (other than the fee), they are not disqualified from performing the notarization.
Question 5: Under what circumstances is a Nebraska notary public explicitly forbidden from acting?
- When the signer is a distant cousin.
- When the notary is notarizing their own signature on a document. (Correct answer)
- When the signer is an employee of the same company as the notary.
- When the document is written in a foreign language that the notary does not understand.
Correct answer: When the notary is notarizing their own signature on a document.
A notary public acts as an impartial witness to the signing of a document. It is a fundamental conflict of interest and a prohibited act for a notary to notarize their own signature, as they cannot be both the signer and the official witness to the signature.
Question 6: Which of the following actions by a Nebraska notary who is not an attorney would be considered the unauthorized practice of law?
- Charging the maximum statutory fee for an acknowledgment.
- Refusing to notarize a document with blank spaces.
- Assisting a client in drafting the text of an affidavit they need notarized. (Correct answer)
- Keeping a detailed journal of all notarial acts performed.
Correct answer: Assisting a client in drafting the text of an affidavit they need notarized.
Nebraska Revised Statute 64-105.03 explicitly prohibits a non-attorney notary from assisting another person in drafting, completing, or selecting a document requiring a notarial act. Drafting an affidavit is a legal task and constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.
NE Notary - Nebraska Notary Prohibited Acts and Conflicts Questions and Answers 1
A Nebraska notary is asked to notarize a document for their step-sibling.
According to Nebraska law, what is the correct action for the notary to take?