--- title: "Estate Documents From Abroad: Notary and Witness Rules | MCC" description: "S. S. probate matter signed by someone overseas: what qualifies for a video notarization, why wills and codicils do not, and why to involve an attorney first." url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/notary/abroad-documents/estate-documents-from-abroad" --- U.S. citizens abroad # Notarizing estate documents from abroad When a relative dies or an estate is being settled in the United States, heirs and executors overseas are often asked for notarized papers. A New Jersey notary can help by video with papers for a U.S. estate or a U.S. probate matter. Wills and codicils themselves are outside New Jersey's remote notarization law, so they are not something we notarize by video. [Book a video session](/notary/#order) ✓ New Jersey commissioned notary, no. 50244803, insured for errors and omissions. [See the credentials](/about/credentials) ![Matthew Coleman, founder of MCC Solutions](/img/matthew-coleman.jpg) **Matthew Coleman**, NJ Notary Public and NNA Certified Loan Signing Agent. Cranford, NJ. Fee confirmed before your session. Card charged only after it is complete. We aim to confirm within 15 minutes, 7am to 9pm. ## When this comes up People who live overseas still inherit U.S. property, serve as executors and sign for U.S. estates. Typical papers are renunciations, consents and affidavits for a U.S. Surrogate's or probate court, papers for a U.S. bank or brokerage holding estate assets, and deeds moving U.S. real estate out of an estate. ## Ask the receiving party first The most common reason a notarized document is rejected is that nobody checked what the other side would accept. Before you book, find out: - Which court or office will receive it, and is it in the United States? That is usually what makes an estate paper qualify. - Does the attorney or the court accept a remote notarization for this paper? Many want to say how it is signed. - Is the paper a will or codicil, or part of signing one? If so, ask the attorney how to sign it where you are, because we cannot do it by video. - Does it need witnesses in addition to the notary, and can they join by video? Rules differ and a mistake can undermine the document. - Where should the original or the notarized copy go? ## How it works - **Ask the receiving party.** Find out in writing whether it accepts a remote notarization and what kind of notarial act it needs. - **Send us the document.** Tell us what it is for and where you will be. We check that it has one of the three U.S. connections New Jersey law requires for a signer outside the United States. - **Book a video session.** Online sessions run 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, 7 days a week, by appointment. Bring an unexpired government photo ID, a device with a camera and microphone, and a steady connection. Check the clock in both places. - **Sign on camera.** We verify your identity, you sign when told to, and the notary completes the notarization. - **Send it on.** You receive the notarized document to deliver or upload as the receiving party requires. ## Get it notarized online today Online notary: open 7 am to 9 pm ET, every day, by appointment A New Jersey notary can notarize this with you on a video call, from anywhere in the U.S. or, on the terms below, from abroad. The fee shows in the booking form before you confirm. Open 7 am to 9 pm ET, every day, by appointment. **What you need** - A valid government photo ID - A computer or phone with a camera - The unsigned document [Book an online session](/notary/?service=ron#order) Our certificate states the act was performed using communication technology, as New Jersey law requires. [What it must say](/notary/remote-online-notarization-certificate-wording) Signing from outside the U.S.? We can notarize when the document is for a U.S. court or agency, involves U.S. property, or relates to a transaction connected with the U.S., and signing isn't prohibited where you are. [Check your document](/notary/abroad-check). Most U.S. recipients accept a remotely notarized document; check with whoever will receive it. [What to ask them](/notary/will-my-online-notarization-be-accepted) · [Several signers](/notary/online-notarization-multiple-signers) ## Does this document qualify from abroad? Papers for a U.S. probate court relate to a matter before a U.S. court, and papers about U.S. estate assets, such as a house or an account in the United States, involve U.S. property. Either meets New Jersey's test for a signer abroad. Wills and codicils are different: New Jersey's remote notarization section does not apply to a record governed by the law on making and signing wills or codicils, so we do not notarize them, or the papers signed as part of executing them, by video. ## When a New Jersey notary can act - The notary must be physically in New Jersey. You can be anywhere. Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other U.S. territories count as inside the United States. - If you are outside the United States, the document must meet at least one of these: (a) it will be filed with, or relates to a matter before, a U.S. court, public official, government agency or other entity under U.S. jurisdiction; (b) it involves property located in the United States; or (c) it relates to a transaction substantially connected with the United States. - In every case, signing it must not be prohibited by the country you are in. You confirm that with the local authorities there; we are not lawyers and cannot advise on foreign law. - Wills and codicils are outside New Jersey's remote notarization law, so we do not notarize them by video. - The receiving party decides whether it accepts the result. - The session is recorded, and New Jersey requires the recording to be kept for at least 10 years. Source: [N.J.S.A. 52:7-10.10 (P.L.2021, c.179, section 19), New Jersey Legislature](https://pub.njleg.gov/bills/2020/PL21/179_.HTM). This is a plain summary, not legal advice. ## Mistakes that get paperwork rejected - Booking a video session for a will or codicil. New Jersey's remote notarization law does not cover them. - Treating the notary as a witness. The two roles are different, and one person may not be allowed to serve as both. - Signing without the formalities the court or the governing law requires. - Asking the notary to explain the effect of the document. They cannot. - Using a template from the internet without advice. - Not telling the notary beforehand that witnesses will be present. ## Questions **Can a will be notarized by video?** Not by us. New Jersey's remote notarization section does not apply to a record governed by the law on making and signing wills or codicils. Ask the attorney who prepared it how to sign it where you are. **Which estate papers can you notarize for someone abroad?** Papers for a U.S. estate or U.S. probate matter, such as a renunciation, a consent, an heir's or executor's affidavit, or a deed for U.S. property in the estate, when signing is not prohibited where you are and the receiving office accepts a remote notarization. **Can the notary act as a witness?** Do not assume so. Whether a notary may also be a witness depends on the law that governs the document. Ask your attorney. **Do you recommend a lawyer?** We cannot give legal advice, but we can tell you to bring the attorney's instructions to the session. MCC Solutions is not a law firm and a notary cannot give legal advice, choose the type of notarization for you, or tell you what a document means. Ask the office or person who will receive the document what it needs, and ask a lawyer about the content. ## Related - [Notarize a power of attorney from abroad](/notary/abroad-documents/power-of-attorney-from-abroad) - [Selling a U.S. house while you live abroad](/notary/abroad-documents/sell-a-house-from-abroad) - [Buying or refinancing a U.S. home from overseas](/notary/abroad-documents/refinance-or-buy-from-overseas) - [Notarize an affidavit or sworn statement from abroad](/notary/abroad-documents/affidavits-from-abroad) - [All documents](/notary/abroad-documents) - [Find your country](/notary/us-citizens-abroad) - [Apostille services](/notary/apostille-services) - [Certified translations](/notary/certified-translation) - [Embassy legalization for non-Hague countries](/notary/embassy-legalization) ## Send us the document and where you are [Ask before you book](/contact)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)