Notary Services and Powers of Attorney

  • Published
  • By Legal Office
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Legal Office
Need a document notarized or a power of attorney? Visit the Travis Legal Office for a walk-in appointment Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., except Tuesday from 8 a.m. to noon when the notary desk is closed. Legal assistance is available for all active duty personnel, retired personnel and their dependents. Bring a military identification card to receive services.

A notary is a special kind of witness who can certify that a document was signed by the person listed. A notary certifies signatures by verifying identification and the signer's willingness to sign. The Legal Office has both California and military notaries. Documents prepared by the Legal Office may be notarized by either type of notary. Certain civilian documents may only be notarized by a California notary.

To have a document notarized by the Legal Office, the document must be unsigned, and the individual must have proof of identity. The 2008 laws allow only certain forms of identification: driver's license, passport or any other identification if it contains photograph, description of person, signature and identification number. Most military ID cards do not include a description of the person or a signature. While only a military ID card is necessary to get legal assistance, another form of ID will likely be needed to have a document notarized. The person having a document notarized must be present and the notary cannot notarize the document if it has already been signed.

A notary can also certify that a copy of a document is an unaltered, true and correct copy. Copies of court documents, birth, death and marriage documents may only be certified by the organization that maintains the original. Call the legal office for more information about getting another type of document copied and certified by a notary.

What is a power of attorney? 

A power of attorney is a document designated to give another person equivalent legal power to an individual's rights. Powers of attorney must be notarized to be valid. Here are a few examples of how a power of attorney can be used: A wife can give her husband a power of attorney to buy a house in both of their names if she cannot be at the closing. A husband can give his wife a power of attorney to start, stop or change his allotments. Parents can get a power of attorney to give a grandparent temporary custody of their kids while the children are visiting without mom and dad. A pet owner can give her/his neighbor the authority to take the dog in for veterinary care while the owner is deployed. These are only a few examples and are in no way intended to describe limitations of the type of power of attorney one can have the legal office create.

Warning about powers of attorney - a power of attorney gives someone else the same legal rights. That means that the person designated can legally do anything another individual can. If someone gains the right to take out loans because he/she is needed to buy a car while an individual is away, that person can take out loans for other things or buy a different vehicle if the power of attorney does not explicitly say she/he can't. Typically, the legal office prepares special powers of attorney that only give limited rights, rather than a general power of attorney.

A general power of attorney lets someone do everything that another can legally do - buy, sell, take out loans, sign checks, open mail, etc. Carefully consider what another person needs or has to do and that person's trustworthiness. The legal office can help write a power of attorney that only lets the person do specific things and nothing more.

Types of Powers of Attorney The Travis Legal Office Can Prepare: 

Access to Bank Accounts, Allotment (Starting/ Changing/ Stopping), Bank - Loan to 

Purchase, Blank SPOA (tailored to specific need), Claims and Property Documents, 

Clear Quarters/Start BAQ, Education, Execute VA Loan, Financial - All Encompassing, 

General POA, House Purchase, House Sitting, Housing - Sign for Base Housing, 

Income Taxes, Legal Action with Regards to Lease, Loco Parentis (temporary custody of 

child), Mail, Manage Property, Medical Care for Children, Copies of Medical Records, 

MPF - ID Cards, Post Office, POV (Operate/ Pickup/ Purchase/ Register/ Sell/ Ship), 

Procure Rental or Lease Quarters, Register for College, Sell Property (Land/House), 

Stocks and Mutual Funds, Thrift Savings Plan (TPS), TMO (Receive/ Ship HHG), 

Transport Child, Veterinary (Medical/Sleep).