Mike Jones is a notary member

We provide the full range of services expected from a Notary Public through our duly qualified Notary Public Michael Andrew Jones.  The services include all legal aspects of the work relating to the execution of Powers of Attorney and the execution of Company documents.  Services are provided relating to the authentication of facts and information and particularly faxed concerning individuals relating to pensions, guardians consent, death, marriage, adoption, emigration, immigration and heirship.  Similar services are also provided for corporations including also the certification of formal company documents.  Services relating to shipping protests, Bills of Exchange, the provision of Notarial Certificates are also provided.

 

It is the business of a Notary Public to make and record agreements between different parties and not to seek conflicts which prevent an agreement from being reached.  It must be appreciated that a Notary Public is a unique form of legal professional whose duty is primarily to the recording of the transaction.  The primary duty of the Notary Public involves an obligation to maintain the highest standards of conduct and to seek to implement the precise terms of a transaction relating to those who appear before him.

 

As a Notary Public Michael Jones is a professional lawyer entitled to carry out in that capacity a wide range of commercial, property and administrative work.  In essence as a Notary Public his obligation is to add legal effectiveness to a transaction.  In this capacity he holds a public office which consists in receiving, interpreting and giving legal form and effect to the agreement reached between the parties.  This involves drafting and completing the relevant convenient legal instruments for the purpose of implementing the contract agreed between the parties or the property transaction which the parties have decided they wish to achieve.  The role of the Notary Public is to ensure that authenticity and legal effect is given to the transaction.  He process involves conserving the original documentation and issuing copies of the same which are duly certified as true copies of the originals retained by Michael Andrew Jones in his capacity as a Notary Public.

 

In his capacity as a Notary Public Michael Andrew Jones is authorised by the Master of the Faculties to apply his Notarial seal to legal documents for the purpose of ensuring the authentication and legalisation of documentation.  As a Notary Public his role is succinctly and clearly summarised in the declaration issued by the Permanent Conference of Notariats of the European Union and its meeting on 23 March 1990 in the following terms:-

 

“The Notary is an Officer who has been granted the authority of the State by delegation for certifying the documents whose author is the same Notary, assuring their conservation and their probative and executive force.  Within the scope of the necessary independence of his duty the Notary practises it within the framework of a free profession that covers every legal non-contentious issue.  His intervention, because of the advice that he gives the parties in an impartial but active way, as well as because of the wording resulting from it, grants the user the legal security that he seeks.  This is even more guaranteed because the Notary is a legal professional with a high university qualification and has acceded to his profession after several tests, courses and tenders, and practises it following strict disciplinary rules under the permanent control of a public authority, and thanks to a geographical distribution that permits to make use of his services throughout the national territory.  Finally the intervention of the Notary in preventing eventual lawsuits and in simplifying the execution of proceedings is in fact an essential mechanism for the good administration of justice.”

It will be noted from the above that there is an international dimension to the work of a Notary Public.  In particular, his services are much needed when international property transactions require to be implemented.  The seal of an English Notary applied to legal document is recognised in foreign jurisdictions and is accepted in evidence in foreign Courts.

 

Many Notarial acts are concerned with some aspect of the registration of the ownership of land, or the status of a business entity.  In most jurisdictions the relevant legal registries concerned are state controlled organisations.  In most civil law countries the registries will accept without question full registration documents prepared by a Notary in the required form.  They will give full force and effect to a Notarial act so long as it complies with the requirements of the standard Notarial form.

 

It is also noted that many businessmen now seek assurances about the status of those with whom they do business in the form of due diligence enquiries made and verified wholly or in part by Notaries.  For example, the verification by Notary of the status of a company, the appointment and powers of its officers, their proper identification and the authentication of their signatories adds significantly to the security of commercial transactions.

 

We can provide a full service relating to the authentication of facts and information relating to individuals.  It is impossible to list all of the situations in which the Notary Public Michael Jones may be required to certify some fact about an individual who appears before him.  However, examples can be given of the nature of the specific services that can be provided relating to this aspect of the work of Michael Jones in his capacity as a Notary Public and these can be summarised as follows:-

 

Some pension trusts require regular certificates that the pensioner is still alive and for this purpose as a Notary Public Michael Jones will be called upon to interview the pensioner and to take great care to identify the pensioner.  A Notarial Certificate can be issued upon corroborative evidence being obtained concerning the identity of the individual and the appropriate Notarial Certificate forwarded to the pension trust.

 

 

In some cases it is necessary for the death of a person who has died in England or Wales to be registered in another jurisdiction.  This will normally be based upon a death certificate issued by the appropriate Registrar of Deaths.  In some jurisdictions the Registrar’s Certificate must be authenticated by a Notary Public and this requires a Notary to see the Registrar and get him to acknowledge and prove his signature to the Notary.  The Notary can then prepare a Certificate that the Death Certificate has been properly issued by the appropriate Registrar who has actual custody of the Register of Deaths.  The Notary may also authenticate the Death Certificate itself which requires comparing it with the original Register held by the Registrar.

 

Those who plan to marry abroad invariably require documents to be prepared or authenticated by a Notary to prove to the authorities of the foreign jurisdiction that they may legally marry each other.  A Registrar can issue a certificate that a British resident is able to marry an overseas resident but this procedure is not available when two British residents wish to marry outside the United Kingdom.  The essential facts that need to be established are that the parties are old enough to marry, are not within prohibited degrees of consanguinity and are not already in an existing marriage.  These facts are recorded in a declaration by each party setting out the facts of their birth and if they have previously been married how that marriage came to end and whether they are related to their proposed spouse and if so what that relationship is.  The Notarial act also involves concluding with a statement that the person appearing before the Notary knows of no just cause preventing them from marrying.

 

British residents may adopt children from foreign jurisdictions.  In a number of cases a Notary Public can be asked to assist in authenticating documents and evidence of the suitability of the adopters.  The Notary is required to approach the matter with a view to establishing the fact that will be required by an English Family Court dealing with an adoption.  This involves obtaining evidence concerning the ages of the adopters, their relationship to each other and their ability to provide a home and financial security.  The Notary Public can then provide a Notarial certificate setting out the relevant facts recited before him.

 

Residents within the United Kingdom are frequently obliged to prove their suitability to live and work in their country of destination.  In such cases as a Notary Public it is necessary to deal with one or more of the following:-

 

(a)               Professional and education qualifications will normally be proved by the Notary Public preparing certified copies of all the relevant Certificates and diplomas from educational institutions. 

 

(b)               In the case of work experience this is normally established by using copies of references from previous employers which will need to be certified by the Notary.  In many cases declarations by someone with personal knowledge of the Applicant’s skills and working experience is required in which case the Notary will prepare the declarations.

 

(c)                The financial status of persons can be established using a declaration by the client applicant corroborated with Notarial certified copies of supporting documents such as bank statements.

 

(d)               The absence of criminal convictions may be established by obtaining official certificates relating to the record of convictions held by the local Police Authority.

 

It is common for intending immigrants to secure the certificate of a Notary.  In preparing and completing such forms the Notary will provide a certificate based on real evidence of each fact stated.

 

In a number of foreign jurisdictions potential beneficiaries need to prove their entitlement to part of the deceased’s estate by the law of the place where the property is located.  The usual requirement is for the claimant to provide that he is a relevant relative of the deceased.  This is normally done by a declaration by the claimant setting out his relationship to the deceased corroborated by certified copies of any relevant documents such as certificates of birth, marriage and death and also divorce decrees.  A Notary can certify as true the copies of any original documents used in this way.  Some jurisdictions require the certificates to be translated into the language of the country where they are to be used and the Notary can attend to this.

 

In many countries there is a requirement that a parent or guardian grants consent of children or wards to travel in such countries.  The Notary Public is required to advise that if the child is kept in the foreign jurisdiction by the person who takes them there, or by any other person there, then there may be problems in having the child returned to the United Kingdom.  The appropriate consent can be encapsulated in a simple form of authorisation after consultation with the Notary.

 

Services can be provided relating to the Notarial certification of documents.  This is often required when a third party needs some form of security and comfort in the identification of a specific document.  Certificate process is often applied because the copy documents contain or impart some information which is important to the person receiving the document.  For example a medical practitioner seeking to work in the United States of America is required to supply certified copies of his qualification certificates.  The Notary certifies the authenticity of a copy document directly by attaching his certificate to an office or other official copy.  Alternatively, it is possible for the Notary to make a copy of the official certificate and attach that to the Notarial certification under seal. 

 

In his capacity as a Notary Public Michael Andrew Jones is duly authorised to prepare and process papers for probate or administration.  A full range of services relating to all aspects of probate are therefore provided through the Notarial public practice.

 

One very common area of work undertaken by Michael Andrew Jones as a Notary Public is to administer Oaths and take Declarations.  In particular Oaths and Declarations are taken in relation to immigration matters and from parties from other places and of other faiths.

 

In his capacity as a Notary Public Michael Andre Jones is duly authorised to prepare all forms of Deeds of Transfer and indeed any other form of conveyancing instrument relating to interests inland.  The approach to conveyancing work by a Notary Public is entirely different from the approach adopted by a solicitor.  As a Notary Public it is necessary to ensure that the integrity of the transaction is preserved and duly recorded.  It therefore follows that in a property transaction a Notary Public can attend to all the requirements to give effect to the transfer of land or the grant of a Lease between parties without either of the parties involved being separately represented.  It is important to appreciate that a Notary Public is not required to represent the interests of either party but merely to record and implement the terms of the agreement and transaction between the parties.  This has considerable implications in that it leads to a substantial saving in the costs involved in implementing a land transaction.

 

Services can be provided relating to the drawing up of Bonds and also relating to the drawing up and issuing of declarations and protests relating to Bills of Exchange in commercial transactions.  In his capacity as a Notary Public Michael Jones can also attend to various aspects of mercantile law including shipping protests. 

 

A wide range of Powers of Attorney can be prepared and concluding including work on foreign Powers of Attorney.  The use of English Powers of Attorney abroad can also be the subject of advice and further work.

 

As a Notary Public Michael Andrew Jones can also provide advice and assistance relating to all aspects of corporate work including the certification of company documents and declarations relating to the appointment of directors and also the issue of Powers of Attorney in the corporate form.  Notarial certificates can also be issued verifying the public records and office copy documents produced at Companies Registry including also certificates relating to the true copies of company documents.

 

In his capacity as a Notary Public Michael Andrew Jones maintains an independent client account in which client funds can be held in accordance with clients’ instructions.  All such funds are secure and held strictly in accordance with the client’s authorisation.  The service is very useful for those clients who wish to conduct property transactions and to authorise the administration of an Estate through Michael Andrew Jones as a Notary Public. 

 

Michael Andrew Jones will be very happy to discuss the services he can provide in his capacity as a Notary Public to all those wishing to consider how their needs and wishes may be achieved through the provision of the services of a Notary Public.  He will be happy to arrange an initial free interview of up to 30 minutes in duration for the purposes of discussing the client’s requirements.

 

 

1.         The standard chargeable hourly rate for the provision of the services of Michael Andrew Jones in his capacity as a Notary Public amounts to £185 per hour.    In addition to the basic chargeable rate it should be noted that there are additional charges which would include all relevant disbursements and also value added tax on both the said professional fees and the disbursements.

 

2.         There is a basic minimum level of fee relating to each instruction.  The minimum fee payable for any work amounts to the sum of £50.  It therefore follows that no instructions can be accepted which will at the very least incur a charge of at least £50 plus disbursements and plus value added tax.

 

3.         The rate at which disbursements are charged are set out as follows:-

 

Car Mileage                                                                    £0.80 per mile

Photography                                                                   £5.00 per picture

Photocopying (monochrome)                                     £0.30 per sheet

Facsimile messages                                                   £2.00 per page

Photocopying (colour)                                                  £4.00 per sheet

Communications, including telephone                    Charged on a time basis which is

Calls, email messages and assessed by calculating the relevant hourly

Correspondence (incoming and Outgoing)              rate based on not less than 6 minute intervals

 

4.         All invoices are to be settled within 14 days from the date of issue. After the expiration of the said period of 14 days, interest is chargeable thereon without further notice based on a daily rate of interest on the sum outstanding based on a daily rate of 4% above the base interest rate charged by the Royal Bank of Scotland for the relevant period where the work in question is non-commercial.  However, where the work in question is commercial work then the rate of interest applied shall be the statutory rate of 12.5% throughout.