New Jersey Assembly Bill A1275

New Jersey 2022-2023 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/11/22
• Refer: 1/11/22

Caption

Authorizes attorneys, county clerks and deputy county clerks who validates affidavit, acknowledge, proof, oath, or affirmation to affix seal indicating authority to perform validation.

Impact

By allowing lawyers and certain state officials to validate documents in a manner equivalent to notaries, the bill simplifies the procedure for document validation. This change could reduce the dependency on notaries, potentially alleviating some of the backlog and delays experienced in legal processes. It reflects a broader move towards increasing efficiency in governmental procedures and ensuring accessibility for citizens needing legal validations.

Summary

Bill A1275 authorizes attorneys, county clerks, and deputy county clerks to affix a seal on affidavits, acknowledgments, proofs, oaths, or affirmations they validate. This seal indicates their authority to perform these validations under New Jersey law. While the bill does not require the affixing of the seal, it provides that such a validation will carry the same legal weight as a seal affixed by a notary public. This is intended to streamline the process of validating legal documents and improve efficiency within the legal system.

Contention

During the discussions surrounding Bill A1275, there were concerns regarding the implications for the role of notaries and how this shift in validation authority might affect costs and accessibility to legal services. Some argued that the changes could lead to confusion over who holds authority and what constitutes valid documentation. However, supporters maintain that empowering attorneys and clerks to perform these validations effectively responds to practical needs within the legal system, particularly in managing the volume of legal documents that require validation.