How "legal" is this?

[One Art]

How legal is a typed up statement (not an "official document") that is signed by all parties in front of a notary (and stamped by the notary)?
I know that a statement signed by two parties doesn't hold water because later one person could claim to have signed under duress, but I'm thinking that someone could equally claim to have signed under duress in the notary situation also. Does anyone know about this?

[ProtoLawyer]

Originally Posted by emilyrose

How legal is a typed up statement (not an "official document") that is signed by all parties in front of a notary (and stamped by the notary)?
I know that a statement signed by two parties doesn't hold water because later one person could claim to have signed under duress, but I'm thinking that someone could equally claim to have signed under duress in the notary situation also. Does anyone know about this?

In general, what you'd have is a contract (for instance, if you typed up a document stating one party shall mow the other party's lawn once a week in exchange for $30 a week), which is enforceable--EXCEPT in family law, which is governed by its own set of laws. You may have an "agreement to agree," but it would still need to be entered as a court order (or however your state does it) to be enforceable under family law. (I'm assuming, given the single parent forum, that you're talking about divorce and/or custody.)

Duress, in contract law, is actually a pretty hard thing to prove--the onus is on the person challenging the contract to prove duress. A contract is presumed valid until challenged; there isn't an assumption of duress or coercion or anything. However, the formalities are there for family law, in part to avoid challenges based on coercion, duress, etc.

Good luck!

[willowsmama]

It's not going to be legally enforceable. I wouldn't chance that with regards to my child or child support.

[The Harpy]

Nope, not legally enforceable but a Judge may take it under consideration in making a court order.

[SimpleJoys]

It depends on the document. I had a notorized statement from my ex about inherited money and it held up in court. Dh had statements about time shares that were notorized and those held up as well. It depends on what you are wanting to do.

[karen ann]

Part of the function of the notary is to assess things like duress. A notary is supposed to have each signer affirm that they are signing freely and willingly (the wording varies depending on the type of certificate) and is also supposed to refuse to notarize if they believe the signer is unwilling or if they believe the document is false or fraudulent. A notary also is supposed to verify the identity of all signers.

If the notary has done his or her duty properly (and has accurate records) and is called on to testify, I would guess a claim of duress will likely hold less weight (but I'm not a lawyer so I really can't say for certain). I've never had to testify as a notary before so I don't know about court proceedings.

[One Art]

thanks for the responses. It is now a moot point... (and no, it didn't relate to custody, but to property).