Affidavits
Affidavit Commissioning by a Lawyer
What affidavits do you commission?
Family law affidavits
including financial statements and Form 35.1 parenting affidavits
Small Claims Court and Superior Court affidavits and affidavits of service
Estate affidavits
execution of wills, surviving spouse, applications for probate support
Affidavits for landlord and tenant, licensing and tribunal matters
Immigration and consular affidavits, including sworn sponsorship and identity evidence
Business affidavits:
officer certificates, sworn account statements, trademark declarations
What will you check before I swear it?
The mechanical failures that get affidavits rejected or challenged: a jurat missing the place or date, exhibits mentioned but not attached or not marked, a deponent name that does not match ID, unsigned pages, or corrections made without initialling. I also make sure each exhibit gets the proper exhibit stamp, “This is Exhibit A referred to in the affidavit of…”, signed by me, because loose attachments are the classic weak point. What I do not do while commissioning is coach your evidence; the contents are yours, sworn as yours.
The rules that catch people out
Never sign the affidavit at home; the signature must happen in my presence, physical or video. Bring every page and every exhibit, since a partial document cannot be sworn. Swearing means swearing: once your name goes on it, a false statement is perjury, so read it slowly one final time before we begin. And if your matter is before a court, confirm whether that court accepts remotely commissioned affidavits for your filing; practice directions vary, and in-person remains the universally accepted default.
What does it cost and how long does it take?
First affidavit sworn and stamped: $39 . Additional affidavits in the same visit: $19 each , exhibit stamps included regardless of count. Ten minutes for a standard affidavit, longer for financial statements with thick exhibit stacks. If the affidavit itself still needs writing or repairing, ask about drafting as a separate legal service when you book.
Affidavits of service, execution and identity
Three quiet workhorses deserve a mention. An affidavit of service proves documents were delivered in a court matter, and process servers and self-represented litigants alike swear them here. An affidavit of execution, sworn by the witness to a will or power of attorney, is what lets the document prove itself later, and estate lawyers send their witnesses to me for exactly this. An affidavit of identity ties together mismatched records for courts and registries. Each takes minutes; each fails loudly when the formalities are sloppy, which is the reason to swear them with a lawyer.