When certain documents are included in a RON in the state of Florida, they will need this additional feature included.
We have a feature that is available to Florida notaries in our system, to be used for very specific situations where documents that the state considers "Instruments" are involved.
Examples of Instruments: wills, trusts, advance health care directive, waiver of spousal rights, power of attorney et al *
*this is not a comprehensive list, these are just some examples
Always check with the FL Secretary of State for clarification.
When Florida notaries are sending out documents that qualify as "Instruments" they will want to turn on this feature. It will appear on the "Send" screen at the bottom, and the notary should select "Yes" to turn this feature on and you will see a notification that says "Vulnerable Adult Questions Will be Required" with an explanation.
If your documents do not qualify, the notary will choose "No" and continue as normal.
Once the feature has been turned on, there will be additional steps included for the signer(s) of the transaction in order to help determine if they are Vulnerable Adults.
After the signer has entered their password, but before they see the documents, they will be presented with three questions to answer regarding themselves.
The questions are Yes / No and will include:
- Are you under the influence of any drug or alcohol today that impairs your ability to make decisions?
- Do you have any physical or mental condition or long-term disability that impairs your ability to perform the normal activities of daily living?
- Do you require assistance with daily care?
If the signer answers "No" to all three questions, they can proceed to signing the documents and then they are finished.
When the notary logs in to sign the documents, they will see a screen that simply reminds them about the Florida statute and prompts them to ask the signer five more questions verbally to help ensure they are following Florida law.
Here are the Notary's questions to ask verbally:
- Are you currently married? If so, name your spouse.
- Please state the names of anyone who assisted you in accessing this video conference today.
- Please state the names of anyone who assisted you in preparing the documents you are signing today.
- Where are you currently located?
- Who is in the room with you?
The notary has the ability to either Cancel or Continue the Transaction right here, based on the answers to their questions. It is up to the notary to determine the best way to proceed, based on Florida law.
If the notary continues the transaction, they can sign and notarize as normal. If the notary chooses to cancel the transaction, the system will change the status to Cancelled and signing will not proceed.
However, if the signer had answered "Yes" to any of the questions first three questions presented to them before they signed, then a notice would have appeared for them advising that a witness be physically present with them while they sign.
Here is the text of the Notice that the signer is shown:
If you are a vulnerable adult, as defined in s. 415.102, Florida Statutes, the documents you are about to sign are not valid if witnessed by means of audio-video communication technology. If you suspect you may be a vulnerable adult, you should have witnesses physically present with you before signing.
The signer then has two options at this point. If they have a witness already physically present with them, they can click "Continue" and proceed with signing the documents. If they do not have a witness, there is a "Stop for Now" button that they can use to exit signing. The signer can come back later and repeat the login process with a witness present.
If the signer continues, then the notary will see a message when they login that tells them know how the signer answered and that a witness is required. Here, the notary can choose to Cancel or Continue. Next, they will be prompted with the 5 verbal questions and again have the option to either Cancel or Continue.
Once again, it is up to the notary to determine the best way to proceed, based on Florida law.
The rest of the transaction will proceed as normal.