Notarized custody agreement

[kelly215]

" What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?(Pennsylvania) Will a notarized custody agreement stand up in court if there was already a court ordered agreement in place?

 

[Proserpina]

" What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?(Pennsylvania) Will a notarized custody agreement stand up in court if there was already a court ordered agreement in place?

No - the court order is the only enforceable agreement.

(Although the notarized agreement can be used to show the intent of the parents if a modification is sought by either)

 

[cbg]

I don't know why so many people think that having something notarized actually means anything to the legality or enforceability of the document in question. A notary's seal confirms that the people who signed it are the people they said they were. If the document itself is enforceable, then it's enforceable whether it was notarized or not. If it is not enforceable, then notarizing it does not make it so.

 

[Ohiogal]

I don't know why so many people think that having something notarized actually means anything to the legality or enforceability of the document in question. A notary's seal confirms that the people who signed it are the people they said they were. If the document itself is enforceable, then it's enforceable whether it was notarized or not. If it is not enforceable, then notarizing it does not make it so.

In Ohio Notaries also have the individuals swear to the truth and veracity of what they are signing.

 

[mistoffolees]

In Ohio Notaries also have the individuals swear to the truth and veracity of what they are signing.

That's true in many other states, as well, but it really doesn't matter. To some extent, simply signing the document indicates agreement. Notarization simply makes it harder to say "I didn't sign that - it must have been someone else".

For OP's benefit, a notarized agreement is useful only in a limited number of circumstances. It is certainly never going to override a court order. You can forget that right off the bat.

It is NOT going to be very useful to try to convince a judge to change custody, for example. The person who signed it could say "yes, I did agree at that time, but since then, I've changed my mind and I don't think it's a good idea" - which would make the agreement almost useless.

About the only place I can see it being useful is where the couple signs an agreement for 50:50 custody and then one of them changes their mind. If they try to tell the court that the other person is completely unfit and a danger to the child and should never be allowed anywhere near the child because they have ALWAYS been a terrible person, the signed agreement would absolutely weaken that position. The opposing attorney would simply ask "if this person is so evil and terrible, why did you agree to 50:50 when you signed this". Unless there was a gun to his/her head, it's hard to answer that (and, obviously, a notary would probably not notarize a document signed under duress. If the gun was also pointed at the notary, then there should have been a police report filed).

 

[LdiJ]

In Ohio Notaries also have the individuals swear to the truth and veracity of what they are signing.

Its the same in Indiana.

 

[LdiJ]

That's true in many other states, as well, but it really doesn't matter. To some extent, simply signing the document indicates agreement. Notarization simply makes it harder to say "I didn't sign that - it must have been someone else".

For OP's benefit, a notarized agreement is useful only in a limited number of circumstances. It is certainly never going to override a court order. You can forget that right off the bat.

It is NOT going to be very useful to try to convince a judge to change custody, for example. The person who signed it could say "yes, I did agree at that time, but since then, I've changed my mind and I don't think it's a good idea" - which would make the agreement almost useless.

About the only place I can see it being useful is where the couple signs an agreement for 50:50 custody and then one of them changes their mind. If they try to tell the court that the other person is completely unfit and a danger to the child and should never be allowed anywhere near the child because they have ALWAYS been a terrible person, the signed agreement would absolutely weaken that position. The opposing attorney would simply ask "if this person is so evil and terrible, why did you agree to 50:50 when you signed this". Unless there was a gun to his/her head, it's hard to answer that (and, obviously, a notary would probably not notarize a document signed under duress. If the gun was also pointed at the notary, then there should have been a police report filed).

If a notarized agreement was immediately submitted to the courts as a stipulated agreement, it could be signed off on by a judge without a hearing being held in many states. I have seen that happen many times.

However, I still agree with the rest of the posters, a notarized agreement in most circumstances in family law is not of any real value, other than perhaps to prove someone was not in willful contempt. If mom and dad agree to switch weekends and get an agreement notarized, odds are neither one of them could be held in contempt for taking the other's weekend.