Notaries and Powers of Attorney
DISCLAIMER: The information on this page is NOT to be construed as legal advice, and is only provided to help our clients/customers better understand the nature of our services and consultations. Legal decisions should NOT be made without consulting an Attorney.
Although the Legal Assistance Office can readily serve your Notary needs, for personnel that may not have the time to come to Camp Foster or need Notaries outside of schedule hours, the following personnel in your units have the same Notary authority under Chapter IX of the JAGMAN and 10 U.S.C. sec. 1044a:
- Adjutants/Legal Officers/Administrative Officers
- Officers in the Marine Corps or Navy in the grade of O-4 (Maj/LCDR) and above
- Commanding Officers & Executive Officers
- all Judge Advocates
However, any authorized persons that notarize documents must do so in accordance with the procedures outlined in Chapter IX of the JAGMAN, and have a Notary logbook. NOTE: 10 U.S.C. sec. 1044a specifically exempts us from the need of a Notary seal.
NOTARY DUTIES:
- par. 0905 JAGMAN:
-Notaries shall not engage in the practice of law and accordingly, may not draw up legal documents such as wills or contracts.
-Notaries shall not sign their names to blank instruments.
-Notaries shall not certify as true the authenticity of any document in which they or their office did not create.
-Notaries may be subject to civil and criminal liability, including fines and imprisonment for misconduct, negligence, malpractice, or other breach of official duties.
- Verify the identification of the signer.
- Although a Notary is generally not responsible for the content of the statements certified by a customer, a Notary shall not notarize a document the Notary knows or reasonably knows to be false.
- A Notary shall maintain a Notary logbook IAW par. 0907 of the JAGMAN.
Obtaining the forms (i.e. Powers of Attorney) you need:
• Foster Legal Assistance (Bldg 5717).
• Kadena Legal Assistance (Bldg 15):
Phone #: 634-3300/098-961-3300
• Torii Station Legal Office:
Phone #: 644-4322/098-970-5555
• U.S. Consulate:
Phone #: 098-876-4211
• Camp Foster Legal Assistance Website
http://www.mcbbutler.marines.mil/Base-Information/Legal-Assistance/
• Kadena Legal Assistance Website
http://aflegalassistance.law.af.mil/
• U.S. Consulate
http://naha.usconsulate.gov
Who can notarize for you?
• Camp Foster Legal Assistance
• Kadena Legal Assistance
• Torii Station Legal Office
• U.S. Consulate
• At your own command:
• ALL O-4 and above officers
• ALL Adjutants
• ALL Legal Officers
• ALL Judge Advocates
PROCEDURES FOR NOTARY:
- The signature must be made in the presence of the Notary; a document that is pre-signed cannot be notarized.
- The customer must present his/her DOD Identification card in the presence of the Notary.
- If appropriate, the Notary will administer an oath, i.e. "Do you swear that the contents of this statement are true to the best of your knowledge under penalty of perjury?"
- The customer signs the document in the presence of the Notary.
- The Notary will sign the Notary block and then fill in the appropriate sections of the Notary logbook.
- The customer will sign the Notary log book.
Powers of Attorney (POA): legal documents that appoint an agent to represent the grantor in some capacity. The Legal Assistance Office provides numerous types of POAs ranging from General to Special (including loco parentis, pet care, travel with minor children, vehicle sales/registration, and those for Family Care Plans). It is typically recommended to have a one-year or less expiration date on a POA. There are two basic types: (1) General and (2) Special.
(1) General Power of Attorney: these POAs grant very broad and diverse powers to an agent and should very rarely be executed, and if so, only for a short duration of time for an extremely trusted agent (i.e. a long term spouse). Due to the potential for fraud and liability, many agencies/businesses will not accept a General Power of Attorney, which is yet another reason why it is usually not recommended.
(2) Special Power of Attorney: gives specific power to an agent to handle certain matters on behalf of the grantor. The Legal Assistance Office has a Special Power of Attorney form that will allow the grantor to select numerous powers on one document to prevent the need of executing multiple documents.
The Legal Assistance Office has the following POAs and documents for notarization (non-exclusive):
- General Power of Attorney
- Special Power of Attorney
- In Loco Parentis- child care
- Pet Care
- Rotating POA for Vehicle Sales/Registration (Okinawa specific)
- Non-Rotating POA for Vehicle Use
- Family Care Plan w/out Child
- Family Care Plan w/Child
- Affidavits of Statement
- Statements of Verification (i.e. for new child Social Security applications)
- Affidavit of Competency to Marry (for marriage in Japan)
Helpful Resources:
Navy Website is available to help generate powers of attorney. Link listed below:
http://www.jag.navy.mil/legal_services/SPOA.htm