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Hi all, Could you please tell me whether we need to get the references and Sworn affidavit of references notarize their letter themselves or do WE take everything and get them notarized together?????Thanks,
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The person who signs has to do it while the notary is watching, so they have to do it themselves. The rest of the process (certification and legalization) you will do by mailing or taking the notarized documents to the Secretary of State (and/or county level, first, if you live in one of those states, like Alabama) and then to the Guatemalan Consulate that serves that state. (Some agencies do the certification and legalization part for their clients).
Also, if you are doing it all yourself and you have to do county-level certifications, call your consulate to see if you can skip the SOS part (I think it depends on which consulate you are using as to whether that is acceptable).
Good luck!
P.S. -- I know this seems anal, but give your friends/relatives a list of MUSTS for the notary, such as
1) must sign legibly
2) must make sure date matches the date on the letter (if that is applicable)
3) must have a commission that expires no earlier than a year from that date.
All of these "rules" probably don't matter (and shouldn't) for most things that notary deals with, but you must explain to your friends that Guatemala is EXREMELY PICKY (and inconsistent) about the way documents are prepared and processed for foreign adoptions.
D.
If I have left anything out, someone please add.
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