Authorized Notarial Acts Flashcards

Which of the following is an authorized notarial act that a Kansas notary public can perform?

Answer: Certifying or attesting a copy of a document.

According to the Kansas Notary Public Handbook, notaries public in Kansas have the authority to perform several acts, including certifying or attesting a copy. The other options are explicitly prohibited acts. Notaries cannot provide legal advice, draft documents, or notarize documents where they have a direct beneficial interest.

A signer brings a document to a Kansas notary and asks for a 'verification on oath or affirmation.' What must the notary do to properly perform this act?

Answer: Administer an oath or affirmation to the signer, who then signs in the notary's presence.

A verification on oath or affirmation (also known as a jurat) requires the signer to appear before the notary, be administered an oath or affirmation regarding the truthfulness of the document's contents, and then sign the document in the notary's presence. Simply witnessing a signature without an oath is a different notarial act.

A Kansas notary is asked to notarize a real estate deed for their spouse. The notary will not receive any direct payment for the notarization itself, but their spouse is selling the property and will profit from the sale. What should the notary do?

Answer: Refuse to perform the notarization because they have a prohibited conflict of interest.

Kansas law prohibits a notary public from performing any notarial act in connection with a transaction where the notary or their spouse has a direct financial or beneficial interest. Even if the notary isn't paid for the act itself, the financial gain to the spouse from the transaction creates a conflict of interest.

All of the following are authorized notarial acts for a Kansas notary public EXCEPT:

Answer: Certifying a true and correct copy of a birth certificate.

While Kansas notaries are authorized to certify or attest copies of certain documents, they are generally prohibited from certifying copies of vital records like birth, death, or marriage certificates. Only the issuing agency can provide certified copies of such records. The other three options are core, authorized duties of a Kansas notary.

A person appears before a Kansas notary, presents a document they have already signed, and declares to the notary that the signature on the document is their own. Which notarial act is appropriate for this situation?

Answer: Taking an acknowledgment

Taking an acknowledgment is the notarial act where a signer personally appears before a notary and declares ('acknowledges') that they have signed the document. The document does not need to be signed in the notary's presence for an acknowledgment.

Under Kansas law, a notary public is authorized to perform which of the following acts?

Answer: Note a protest of a negotiable instrument.

Kansas statutes explicitly grant notaries public the authority to 'note a protest of a negotiable instrument.' The other options are not authorized notarial acts in Kansas. Solemnizing marriages, acting as a translator for the document, and certifying the authenticity of objects or non-recordable signatures are outside the scope of a notary's duties.