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About · A Life as a Notary

A life as a Notary

Some deeds are filed away. Others remain in your heart.

When people think about a Notary, they usually imagine legal documents, tax rules, property transactions and company law.

And, of course, that is part of my daily work.

Every day I draft deeds, verify documents, solve legal issues and help clients navigate decisions that are often among the most important of their lives.

But there is another side to this profession that no textbook can teach and no university course can fully explain.

It is the human side.

Over more than forty years, I have met thousands of people.

Young couples buying their first home with excitement in their eyes.

Parents trying to protect the future of their children.

Entrepreneurs starting a new business after years of sacrifice.

Families facing the loss of a loved one.

Brothers and sisters who had not spoken for years but found themselves sitting around the same table to settle an inheritance.

Every deed has a legal purpose.

But behind every deed there is also a story.

Some of those stories make you smile.

Others leave you speechless.

Some teach you an unexpected lesson.

And a few stay with you forever.

This section is dedicated to those memories.

They are not legal case studies and they are certainly not lessons in law.

They are simply moments from the life of a Notary.

Small episodes that reveal how much humanity can be hidden behind what, at first glance, seems to be nothing more than a signature on a document.

Sometimes a client's words change the way you look at your own work.

Sometimes an apparently insignificant detail becomes unforgettable.

Sometimes, years later, someone walks back into your office and tells you that a conversation you barely remember helped shape an important decision in their life.

These are the stories I would like to share.

Not because they are extraordinary, but because they are true.

They remind me that being a Notary is not only about interpreting the law.

It is about listening.

It is about understanding people.

And, every now and then, it is about becoming a quiet witness to a small part of someone else's life.

If these pages leave you with a smile, make you reflect for a moment or simply help you understand what this profession is really about, then they will have achieved exactly what I hoped for when I decided to write them.

In this section

The most unusual gift I have ever received The most unusual gift I have ever received The most unexpected gift of a forty-year career: a live chicken. Read the story → The story behind my first blue pen The story behind my first blue pen A client who refused to sign in black ink, and the reason behind it. Read the story → A bar of soap inside a lemon net A bar of soap inside a lemon net A detail in an elderly client’s home that brought back a childhood memory. Read the story → The child I never expected The child I never expected A conversation during a signing, remembered by a couple years later. Read the story → A father's last concern A father's last concern An elderly client who spent a year resolving a property matter for his son, and what his real concern turned out to be. Read the story → When you open my will When you open my will A client of almost ninety, a long list of bequests and an unexpected burst of laughter. Read the story → The last handshake The last handshake A will received at the end of a life, and the gesture that follows it. Read the story → The corridor of silence The corridor of silence A silent corridor in a care home, and an answer that stays with you. Read the story → Don't leave me alone Don't leave me alone A news report brings back an old estate, an elderly farmer and his dog. Read the story → That smile That smile She was a radiant young woman, one of those people who walk into a room and somehow seem to bring a little light with them. Read the story → A Hat from Australia A Hat from Australia An Italian notary, in his office in Casale Monferrato, wearing an authentic Australian hat: there was something unusual and amusing about the sight. Read the story → A Life in My Hands A Life in My Hands There are houses where, the moment you step inside, you feel as though time has stood still. Over the course of my career, I have often had to enter the home of someone who was no longer alive. Sometimes I was accompanied by a spouse, sometimes by children or other relatives. Almost always, I was there to draw up an inventory. Read the story → Behind-the-Door-Next-Door Behind-the-Door-Next-Door Imagine entering a house where the floor has almost disappeared beneath mountains of possessions. Read the story → Twelve Kilometres Twelve Kilometres The woman I met that Saturday is called Michèle. When she needs me, she telephones, and I go to her home. It has always been that way. Read the story →

Let’s talk in person

Behind every deed there are people and stories. For a purchase, a gift, a succession or a company matter, the firm is available for a first conversation.

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