I work full time for an attorney..the following is a true story and this whole situation made me so mad I could spit...

We sent papers to a party in North Carolina regarding legal guardianship of a minor child. They were drafted in accordance with the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and Florida Rules of Judicial Administration regarding reference to minor children in court pleadings in Florida (there is a prior temporary custod order in place and Florida retained jurisdiction over the child) - in other words, to maintain confidentiality, the minor child is referred to only by initials with the date of birth cited as XX/XX/<>.

The notary that this person went to told her she should NOT sign the papers if they contained just initials...she should sign them only if the name was spelled out. Well, the signer got a lesson in Florida civil procedure.

I wish this notary was a member here..and just in case he/she is, I say to you and to all notaries: "Mind you d*** business! Unless you have a law degree, you've overstepped your bounds as a notary. You have no right to review those documents, nor did you have the right to advise the signer whether to sign or not. You make sure the document has no blanks, identify the signer and notarize, that's it!!". Any notary that's going to insist on continuing with this type of conduct better (a) make sure you have a LOT of E&O & liability insurance; (b) make sure your premiums are paid; and (c) get ready to be reported to your respective SOS for blatant UPL.

I'm sorry, but this just irks me - a prime example of a notary trying to be more than they are...and interfering with a process/procedure that they obviously are clueless about. Mind your business, do your job...