Notary Public Services in Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico a notary is a lawyer, and a notarised document carries a higher legal presumption of correctness than one executed privately. All of the attorneys at Nolla, Palou & Casellas, LLC are registered notaries in Puerto Rico.

What a notary public does in Puerto Rico

Local law bestows upon notaries the public function of attesting and authenticating transactions and other acts and business. In our jurisdiction, among other things, the notary public drafts contracts, deeds and other documents. They are entrusted with the duty of corroborating the manner, time, place and date of the execution of such documents.

Local law defines the notary public as follows:

The notary is a legal professional who practices a public function, authorized to attest and authenticate pursuant to the laws the juridical business and other acts and extrajudicial events executed before him, without prejudice of what is provided in the special laws. His function is to receive and interpret the will of the parties giving it a legal format, draft the notarial documents and deeds for such purpose and confer authority to them. The notary’s public faith is complete with regard to the facts carried out and corroborated by him in the exercise of his functions, and also with regard to the manner, place, date and time of the execution.

Act No. 75 of July 2, 1987, 4 LPRA sec. 2002

In Puerto Rico, the involvement of a notary public in the drafting, execution and recordation of such documents carries a higher legal presumption of correctness than documents executed by and between private parties without the intervention of a notary.

Our notarial practice

Agreements and deeds

The notaries at Nolla, Palou & Casellas, LLC draft documents for the disposition or exchange, lease and development of real property. The notarial function assures that all of the parties have an opportunity of receiving advice on the transaction. The buyer can be sure the transaction was carried out in accordance with the law, taking into account the easements and other burdens described in the deed, since the notary must verify the title and the state of any liens according to the Property Registry.

Mortgages

Our notaries assist the parties in the constitution of mortgages to guarantee the fulfilment or payment of an obligation, and with the cancellation of mortgage notes.

First, the notary coordinates the search for documents and for information on the condition of the property in the Property Registry, analyses the result of the title study, and verifies the capacity of the parties as well as the documents necessary to demonstrate the authorisation required to constitute a guarantee. Second, the notary verifies that the financial conditions offered have indeed been put in writing. Third, the notary warns consumers as to the meaning of what they are signing and of the obligations they assume.

Prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements

Our legal system in Puerto Rico allows future spouses to establish a legally binding agreement on how they will govern their economic relations, if they enter into it prior to the wedding. A notary from the firm may advise them on the possibilities, depending on their particular situation.

Absent a prenuptial agreement, a marriage in Puerto Rico is governed by the basic principles of a partnership of assets: all equity and debts belong in equal parts to the spouses. The law allows this regime to be modified, and future spouses frequently choose total separation of assets, under which all equity and debts acquired during the marriage belong exclusively to the spouse who acquired them, who can administer or sell without the participation of the other. That change of regime is obtained by granting such an agreement before a notary.

Powers of attorney

A power of attorney granted in a public deed authorises the attorney-in-fact to act in representation of another person, within the scope of the faculties granted. A power of attorney is essential, for example, for the transfer of title of real property. The grant must be specific as to the faculties bestowed, and the grantee must be aware of all the possible consequences.

Recordation of facts and events

The notary can certify and attest to facts that are known to them, or events that occur in their presence, and perpetuate those facts or events in a document known as an acta notarial, or notarised deed.

Common questions