A large share of our work happens inside care communities, particularly around Juno Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and North Palm Beach, where a lot of the county's residential care sits. These appointments run at a different pace from everything else we do, and they should.
Residents have schedules - meals, therapy, medication rounds, rest. The appointment has to fit the resident, not the other way round. Mid-morning and early afternoon are usually best, and late evening is usually the worst time to ask an elderly person to concentrate on a legal document.
We will sign in at the desk, wait if therapy is running late, and work with the staff rather than around them.
This is the conversation families most want to skip and the one that most needs having. We are required to confirm the signer understands what they are signing and is acting freely. In memory care that is not a formality.
Someone can have a diagnosis and still have perfectly good capacity, particularly earlier in the day. Capacity is also not ours to diagnose - we are not clinicians and we do not pretend to be. What we do is form a good-faith judgement in the room, and if we cannot, we say so.
If there is any doubt, talk to the physician and the family's attorney before booking. There are lawful ways to handle a signer who cannot write, and an attorney may want to be present. Those things are far easier arranged in advance than improvised at a bedside.
Healthcare surrogate designations and living wills, so somebody can lawfully make decisions. Durable powers of attorney, financial and limited. Trust amendments and deeds. Occasionally paperwork a facility itself requires on admission.
Witness requirements differ across these, and staff members are often ineligible because of their relationship to the facility. Tell us the document type when you call and we will work out who needs to be in the room.
We take hospice calls and we treat them as the priority they are. Short notice, evenings and weekends are all normal. We arrive quietly, we do not make the family manage us, and we do the work with as little disturbance as the situation allows.
No. Witnesses are yours to arrange, and the notary cannot serve as one. Many care communities will not let their staff witness at all, so ask the facility first and arrange your own if the answer is no.
Often not. Many facilities forbid it, and a witness generally cannot be someone who benefits from the document. Ask the facility first and tell us the answer when you book.
Florida permits signing by mark, with its own requirements. Call before the appointment so it is arranged properly rather than improvised.
Call or text and we will confirm a time, usually within the hour. Evenings and weekends included.
Call or Text 561-316-0749