You took another big step forward when you both approved the draft of your prenup, which is no longer a draft. It's the final version of your Prenuptial Agreement, and it needs to be notarized. 

Whether you decided to DIY your prenup, or to seek traditional representation by an attorney, or to mediate your prenup together, your next step is executing your Prenuptial Agreement. "Executing" means that you are signing the Agreement with witnesses and a notary.

Some professionals include notarization as one service among other prenuptial agreement services. 

JustPrenups is not one of them. We do not provide a notary via our company, and we do not recommend particular notaries either. 

JustPrenups directs our clients to an outside service to provide notarization as we do not want to notarize - essentially approve and validate - our own work. 

We want external notaries to see for themselves that you are both acting voluntarily and not under any apparent chemical influence, cognitive impairment, duress or coercion, any of which may be grounds to invalidate a prenup.

At JustPrenups, your next step is to choose a notary after you finalize the content of your Agreement. Not all notaries operate in the same way, even though the results are the same.  You may choose from three basic categories:

1. an in-person notary (e.g., your local bank usually has a notary).
2. a remote notary (i.e., online notary services), which usually has more verification requirements because they are completing online transactions. 
3. or a mobile notary (i.e., the notary comes to your physical location). 

Consider the following notarization tips: 

1. Call the notary in advance to check on hours, fees, and parking.
2. Ask what credentials you need to bring with you. This issue is more critical for international partners.
3. Print more than one copy of your Agreement to bring with you to the notary in case you make a mistake while signing or in case of the notary making a mistake. Note that you are bringing the extra copies only in case of an emergency, such as the notary's stamp not working properly, etc. The intent here is to be prepared and to avoid an extra trip, not to make multiple copies.
4. Check every page: ensure that all pages were actually printed and are in order.
5. Check every page of your print-outs: ensure that the black ink printed evenly such that every word is readable after scanning. Make sure that there are no smudges obscuring a letter or punctuation mark, any of which could be critical to interpretation if the Agreement is ever contested. 
6. Remember that both partners need to initial each page. 
   

We have an ironclad rule: you must work with only one original copy to avoid any confusion that occurs if you create multiple original versions. JustPrenups prioritizes simplicity and security.

Next, what are the nuts and bolts - the mechanical "how" part - of approaching this process? See below.

Many couples opt to execute their Agreement together before the notary, and that is your option. But be aware that the couple is not required to be present together for simultaneous notarization.

JustPrenups would like you to consider creating another layer of validity to your Agreement through notarizing your Agreement separately. How does that work? Partner 1 signs with the notary, and then that Agreement (with Partner 1's notarized, dated, witnessed signature) is given to Partner 2 to create the same dated, witnessed signature before a notary. 

What is the advantage of notarizing the Agreement separately? Here's an illustration. Let's say that there is duress in the relationship that is covert, and the dynamic is coercive enough to leave the other partner obedient out of fear. The separate notarizations provide an opportunity for the oppressed partner to take space safely to say no by failing to notarize.

Do you want yet another layer of integrity and protection for your Agreement? 

Keep your Prenuptial Agreement  close and your notary a stranger. 

If you use your friend or your employee as a notary, the rigors of the process may be lost, and the appearance of self-dealing could be damning if your Agreement is ever challenged in family court.

At JustPrenups, we ask that you share with us a PDF of your executed Agreement (i.e., the initialed, signed, dated, notarized, single original copy), and of course, all of our clients are free to share wedding pictures (especially if your pets are in them)! 

DISCLAIMER: This information is offered as a helpful guide for our retained clients only.  Any material offered on this website does not constitute legal advice and does not create a professional relationship between the reader and JustPrenups.com.