Guardianship and adoption documents are the sworn papers that change who cares for a child, or for an adult who can no longer manage alone: the affidavit a birth mother signs to relinquish her parental rights so an adoption can proceed, the consent a parent gives in a stepparent adoption, the declaration in which parents name a guardian for their children in case something happens to them, the authorization that lets a grandmother in Socorro enroll her grandson in school and take him to the pediatrician while his parents work in Ciudad Juárez, or the sworn application a daughter files in an El Paso probate court to become guardian of her father. Each one is only as good as its notarization.
Texas is specific about how these documents are executed. An Affidavit of Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights (Tex. Fam. Code §161.103) may not be signed until 48 hours after the child's birth, must be witnessed by two credible persons and must be verified before a person authorized to take oaths — the notary administers that oath. An Authorization Agreement for a nonparent relative or adult caregiver (Tex. Fam. Code ch. 34) must be signed and sworn to before a notary by both the parent and the caregiver. Guardianship applications filed in the probate courts are sworn as well, and a Declaration of Guardian under the Texas Estates Code is self-proved with witness affidavits. Because these are jurats, you sign in front of the notary — never beforehand.
Text or call (915) 302-0902, tell us which document you have and who will sign, and we confirm the fee: $10 per oath or acknowledgment, $1 for each additional signature, plus a nominal $39 travel fee anywhere in El Paso County — at home, at your attorney's office, at the adoption agency, or in a hospital room at UMC or Las Palmas. Every signer brings unexpired photo ID. Bring your own two credible witnesses when the document calls for them, or ask when booking whether witnesses can be arranged for an additional fee. Most signings take 15 to 30 minutes. We do not draft these documents or advise which one you need; your attorney, the adoption agency or the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, which publishes the caregiver authorization form, provides them.
Documents we notarize
- Affidavit of Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights
- Adoption consents and relinquishments
- Affidavit of Waiver of Interest in Child
- Adoption home-study affidavits and background authorizations
- International adoption dossiers (notarized for apostille)
- Declaration of Guardian in the event of later incapacity or need
- Declaration of Appointment of Guardian for the Declarant's Children
- Temporary Guardianship Authorization (non-court)
- Guardianship application affidavits for the El Paso County probate courts
- Kinship caregiver affidavits
- Authorization Agreement for Nonparent Relative or Adult Caregiver (Tex. Fam. Code ch. 34)
Witnesses, oaths and who has to be in the room
For a relinquishment or waiver-of-interest affidavit, three people besides the notary are usually in the room: the parent who is signing and two credible witnesses — adults who are not parties to the adoption; your attorney or agency will tell you who qualifies. The notary confirms the signer's identity, confirms that the signer understands the document and is signing willingly, administers the oath and completes the jurat, and the witnesses sign where the affidavit provides. If a signer appears pressured, confused or heavily medicated, the notary stops. That is not an obstacle; it is what protects the adoption later, because a relinquishment that was not properly sworn and witnessed can be challenged.
For a chapter 34 authorization agreement, both the parent and the caregiver swear to the agreement before the notary; if they cannot be in the same place, each can sign at a separate visit and the notary completes a separate jurat for each. Court-appointed guardianships are a different matter: they are court proceedings in El Paso County's probate courts, and QWIK's role is limited to notarizing the sworn application, affidavits and oaths your attorney prepares. We never advise on whether a private authorization or a court guardianship is the right path — that question belongs to an El Paso family or probate attorney.
El Paso specifics: probate courts, DFPS and adoptions across the border
Guardianship applications in El Paso are filed with the El Paso County Clerk, who serves the county's two statutory probate courts downtown. Kinship placements and adoptions through the state run through the El Paso office of the Department of Family and Protective Services, which has its own sworn forms and background authorizations for caregivers. Grandparents raising grandchildren in the Lower Valley, Fort Bliss families naming a guardian before a deployment, and stepparents adopting after a remarriage are typical of the signings we do, and many happen in the evening at the family's kitchen table.
When an adoption dossier or guardianship document will be used in Mexico or another country, notarization is the first step, not the last: the notarized document then goes to the Texas Secretary of State for an apostille ($15 per document), a step QWIK can handle by mail for you. Documents issued by a court or a vital records office — birth certificates, adoption decrees — cannot be certified by a notary; you request certified copies from the issuing agency and those are apostilled directly. Mexican recipients often require a translation by a perito traductor in Mexico, so check with the receiving office before you ship anything.
What to bring
- Unexpired government photo ID for every signer — Texas driver license or ID, passport, matrícula consular or military ID
- The complete document, unsigned — affidavits and sworn agreements are signed only in front of the notary
- Two credible adult witnesses when the document requires them, or ask when booking whether witnesses can be arranged for an additional fee
- Your attorney's, agency's or caseworker's instructions on which signatures need a jurat and which need an acknowledgment
- For hospital signings: the room number and any visiting rules, and confirmation that the 48-hour period has passed for a relinquishment
- Payment for the notarial fees and the $39 travel fee
How a mobile appointment works
Text or call to book
Text or call (915) 302-0902 with the document name, the number of signers and witnesses, and the address — a home in Horizon City, an attorney's office downtown, a maternity floor. We confirm the statutory fee per oath or acknowledgment and the $39 travel fee before we leave.
We come to you
Your notary checks every signer's unexpired photo ID, confirms each one is signing willingly and understands the document, administers the oath, watches the signatures and the witnesses sign, and completes the jurat or acknowledgment certificate. Plan on 15 to 30 minutes for documents with witnesses.
Signed, sealed, done
Your attorney or agency files the sworn documents with the court or DFPS; keep photocopies for your records. If the dossier is headed to Mexico or another country, ask us about the Texas Secretary of State apostille, and check whether the recipient wants a translation as well.