Let’s Talk about Advance Care Directives, the Notary Side

First, an advance care directive in essence is a living document that allows you to express your values and desires related to end-of-life care.

There may be a day that a family member or medical professional must decide on your behalf whether to use emergency treatments to keep you alive. This is where an advance care directive can spell out your wishes/desires on the use of (source here)

• CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)

• Ventilator use

• Artificial nutrition (tube feeding) and artificial hydration (IV, or intravenous, fluids)

• Comfort Care

Advance care planning is not just about old age. At any age, a medical crisis could leave you too ill to make your own health care decisions. This type of document can be found in many places, but I strongly recommend that you speak to an attorney and see what option is best for your situation.

“As a notary, I am an impartial witness in performing a variety of official fraud-deterrent acts related to the signing of important documents. My duty is to screen the signers of important documents for their true identity, their willingness to sign without duress or intimidation, and their awareness of the contents of the document or transaction.” (source here)

Lately, I have received numerous calls for individuals to have their advance care directives notarized, sadly I have had to turn people away because of expired IDs. It is crucial that I am able to identify you.

VALID (non-expired) ID Examples could be:

• State-issued driver's license State-issued identification card

• U.S. passport issued by the U.S. Department of State U.S.

• Military ID State

• County and Local government IDs

• Permanent resident card, or "green card," issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Foreign passport

**SIDENOTE- In some situations, a credible witness can be used. The credible witness must personally be known by the notary public and the person requesting notarizations of their documents (55.285 Performance of notarial acts; scope; verification.),

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Shannon Coffey of Notary Babe Shan will travel to residences, businesses, jails, hospitals or wherever is convenient for you in the Metro Detroit Area. I do also perform online notarizations, there are a few limitations on what I can notarize online.

For your convenience, we can print, scan, mail & ship your documents for you. Just let us know where your documents need to go next, and we will get them there!

Shannon Coffey of Notary Babe Shan has 23 years of experience in Management/Human Resources,10 years in Public Education, and 8 years of experience in banking and financial services. In order to provide the best signing experience, I continue my Notary education regularly staying up to date on my craft as a Professional Notary Public & Notary Signing Agent through Notary Stars, The Notary Business Builder with Notary Coach, The National Notary Association, and The American Society of Notaries.