Prestige, a provider of notary and signing support services, has introduced an estate planning signing support service that combines document printing, binder assembly, and delivery by a notary to the signer. The service, offered through Prestige Notaries, extends the company's existing signing coordination to include preparation of the organized document package used during trust signings. This development matters because it shifts administrative tasks that estate planning firms often handle internally—such as assembling tabbed trust binders and arranging shipping—into the signing assignment itself, potentially reducing overhead and allowing firm staff to focus on higher-value work.
The service originated with a client that was assembling tabbed trust binders internally and paying to ship them. Prestige took responsibility for ordering binders and tabs, printing the documents, organizing and sealing the materials, and arranging for the notary to bring the completed package to the signer. Under that arrangement, the firm no longer needed to assemble the binders or absorb the shipping cost. This approach reflects a philosophy described by Jennifer Garland, founder, President and CEO of Prestige Companies, of listening to a client's specific operational needs and building support around those needs.
Garland founded Prestige in 2015 after working as a paralegal at the Washington State Attorney General's office and managing a mortgage company. Her mortgage industry experience exposed a need for streamlined processes and hand-vetted notaries, leading to the establishment of Prestige Notaries. Today, the company serves banks, corporations, and law firms, with a database of more than 260,000 notaries across all 50 states.
Independent professionals are central to the company's service model. Garland describes the notaries and field agents working with Prestige as small business owners whose independence remains important to the relationship. Her approach emphasizes helping those professionals become self-sufficient contractors rather than dependent on the company. Support includes clear expectations, access to resources, and ongoing communication with the service team.
Prestige Notaries maintains standard operating procedures across industries and clients. Training addresses those standards and their application, while ongoing conversations with the service team inform procedural changes when circumstances require them. The company pairs that structure with a consistent vetting process for every notary it places, regardless of location or client assignment. Notarial law varies by state, and Prestige has built a library of state-by-state guides for its team, providing a reference for jurisdiction-specific requirements without relying on memory.
The company's assignment history includes complex logistical feats. For an executive attending a retreat on a remote Alaskan island, Prestige arranged for a notary and field agent to travel by float plane, remain on the island for several days, obtain the signature, and return the document on time. Flights reached the island only twice weekly, making transportation schedules part of the assignment planning. Another assignment required a notary to meet a guide and travel by snowmobile to a mile marker to reach the signer. Prestige has also coordinated a commercial signing involving 17 signers across five cities and three time zones, with signings taking place simultaneously.
Administrative coordination includes shipment tracking within Prestige's platform, allowing the team and clients to track shipments without leaving the platform or calling a carrier. The estate planning signing support service applies a similar approach to the physical preparation and delivery of signing materials, combining existing signing coordination with a defined document preparation workflow. Its scope covers binders, tabs, printed materials, organization, sealing, and delivery, placing those tasks within the assignment handled by Prestige and its field professionals rather than retaining binder assembly as an internal responsibility of the estate planning firm. This shift could meaningfully alter how estate planning firms allocate staff time and resources, particularly as remote and complex signings become more common.
