Estate planning firms often face the tedious task of assembling trust binders, printing documents, and arranging delivery to signers. Prestige announced on October 16, 2026, a new estate planning signing support service that takes over these responsibilities, combining document printing, binder assembly, and delivery by a notary. The service, offered through Prestige Notaries, is now available to estate planning firms broadly.
The service originated from a client's specific need: an estate planning firm was assembling tabbed trust binders internally and paying to ship them. Prestige took over ordering binders and tabs, printing documents, organizing and sealing materials, and arranging for a notary to bring the completed package to the signer. As a result, the firm no longer needed to assemble binders or absorb shipping costs. This workflow shifts preparation tasks into the signing assignment, freeing firm staff for other work.
Jennifer Garland, founder, President and CEO of Prestige Companies, emphasized listening to client needs and building support around them. "A process created for one firm became a service offered more broadly," she noted. 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, which today 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 model. Garland describes the notaries and field agents as small business owners whose independence is vital. The company emphasizes helping them become self-sufficient contractors rather than dependent on Prestige. Support includes clear expectations, resources, and ongoing communication. Prestige maintains standard operating procedures across industries and clients, with training and a consistent vetting process for every notary placed.
Notarial law varies by state, and Prestige has built a library of state-by-state guides for its team, ensuring jurisdiction-specific requirements are met without relying on memory. The company's assignment history includes complex logistics: for an executive at a remote Alaskan island retreat, Prestige arranged for a notary and field agent to travel by float plane, stay several days, obtain the signature, and return the document on time. Another assignment required a notary to travel by snowmobile to a mile marker. Prestige also coordinated a commercial signing with 17 signers across five cities and three time zones simultaneously.
Administrative coordination includes shipment tracking within Prestige's platform, allowing clients to monitor progress without contacting carriers. This approach preserves staff attention for assignments needing personal involvement. The new estate planning service applies similar efficiency to physical preparation and delivery. It combines existing signing coordination with a defined document preparation workflow, covering binders, tabs, printed materials, organization, sealing, and delivery. By placing these tasks within Prestige's assignment, estate planning firms can reduce internal administrative burdens and shipping costs, potentially allowing them to focus on client service and legal work. This move underscores a growing trend of outsourcing non-core functions to specialized providers, which could impact how estate planning firms operate and allocate resources.
