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My mom is deaf and has drafted her will. She wants to get it notarized and would like me to come and interpret for her because she doesn't trust private interpreters and is worried she'll be misunderstood or taken advantage of if she relies on written pen and paper.
I know I can't sign as a witness because I am listed as a beneficiary in the will along with my brother, but would there be any legal issue or conflict of interest having me there as an interpreter? Alternatively, my husband is fluent in ASL and is not listed as a beneficiary so he is another option as an interpreter that she is comfortable with.

Notaries do NOTHING but attest that a signature is the signature of the person signing according to their presentation of ID. They do not witness. They don't help anything other than to attest to a signature. And anyone can be in the room who wishes to or who the signatory wishes to have there.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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The notary just verifies the identity of the person signing. They don’t have anything to do with the content of the document. Generally, the witnesses don’t know the content of the will when they sign off either.

So, they don’t really worry about who all is in the room when the document is signed. You should be able to easily confirm this when you make an appointment with the notary.

If she is signing at a lawyer office, and is discussing the content of the will, your mom will probably be asked to sign a form authorizing you to be in the room while the content of her will is being discussed.

If the estate is expected to be unusually large, or your brother or some disinherited person might make actual trouble, then you might want to protect yourself by using a professional interpreter and also being there to add comments if you think your mom is missing something. This would only be necessary if you suspect someone might accuse you of threatening her to get her to sign or of lying to her about the content of the will during the signing process
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Reply to Frebrowser
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mkli2025 Feb 14, 2025
Thanks for your advice!

We're going to a local notary, not a law office, and her estate is not large. Her mother just passed recently and I think she's feeling urgency in making sure her own affairs are arranged. My brother and I also have a great relationship and it's just the two of us so I can't imagine a world where there's an issue down the road. She's been really transparent with both of us regarding her will and it really is quite simple and just a 50/50 split.

I was feeling nervous about being given trouble because when I called ahead to the notary office they said my presence would be fine, but then they followed up with they couldn't give legal advice. It gave me pause, but it sounds like that's just a general statement.
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I would first call the notary to find out if your (or your husband's) presence as interpreters would cause any problem. I can't imagine it would. I don't remember there being any barrier to other people being present when the Will is notarized. I was there with my Mom when she signed it, and I am her heir/benefiary.
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Reply to Geaton777
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mkli2025 Feb 14, 2025
Thank you! I called ahead and they said that it would be ok but they couldn't give legal advice and that made me pause and wonder if there would be an issue.
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Yes, I did that for my step-father who was deaf, I am in Florida.
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Reply to MeDolly
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mkli2025 Feb 14, 2025
Thank you for your response!
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