In many cases, you may need to provide a will to other countries outside the United States to handle matters involving real estate or inheritance rights. Documents issued from the U.S. will not be directly recognized by foreign governments or agencies, the apostille or authentication process must be completed first before being presented to the receiving party abroad.
How to get a will notarized?
To apostille or authenticate a will, the first step is to draft a will and get it notarized by a local notary near you. Here are 10 ways for you to find a notary.
Anyone of legal age (18 years old in most states) and with a sound mind can make a will. Click here for detailed steps for notarizing a will.
How to Apostille or Authenticate a will?
After obtaining a notarized will, depending on whether the destination country is a member of the Hague Convention of 1961, complete the following steps:
1. Order the service that suits your situation.
If the destination country is a member country/region (such as Germany, Spain, France, etc.):
Get an Apostille from the Secretary of State.
If the destination country is NOT a member country/region :
Get an Authentication from the Secretary of State.
Get an Authentication from the U.S. Department of State. (if required)
Get a Legalization from the Embassy.
2. Mail the documents.
Note: Please be aware of how old the notarized will is. There are a few states that have set limits on how old a document can be. For example, documents issued from Virginia cannot be older than 12 months, and documents issued from Texas cannot be older than 5 years.
Then please mail us the original documents for further processing based on the instruction you received from our team.
That's it. Once the apostille or authentication process is completed, we will mail it to your mailing address, either domestically or internationally. Shipping costs apply.
We provide apostille, authentication, and embassy legalization services for other personal documents and corporate documents issued in 50 states and DC.
If you have any questions and do not know which service to order, please contact us by describing ① the type of the document, ② which state the doc is from, and ③ in which country the doc will be used, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
American Notary Service Center Inc. provides fair, fast, confidential, and professional document notarization and certification services for our clients. We also provide various assistance services to small businesses led by socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Our service helps small businesses obtain federal government contracts, gain a foothold in the market, and boost their sales. For more information, please visit our website at www.usnotarycenter.com, and contact us by calling 202-599-0777 or by email at info@usnotarycenter.com.