Saved by a Notary

Good article regarding traveling with kids (“Single Parent, Bringing Kids? Check Out the Paperwork,” Travel Insider, June 1). Almost happened to us this past Easter on a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Four of us: my wife (whose passport still is in her maiden name), her son (whose last name is the same as his father’s), my divorced sister’s son (who has his father’s name) and me. Four different last names, two kids from divorced parents and to top it all off, I’m an “Anglo,” my wife is Vietnamese (born there), as is her son (born here), and my sister’s son is a blue-eyed blond who was born in Bangkok.

We had traveled before, so I had what I thought was all the needed paperwork. (I’m a military officer.) I was wrong! The letter from my sister giving me guardianship was notarized over a year ago--no good. My stepson’s birth certificate was a non-notarized copy--no good. My sister’s son had a statement from the State Department about a citizen being born abroad (Bangkok), also not notarized.

What saved us was a Mexicana agent, who directed us to a notary in the Bradley International Terminal at LAX. A quick visit (it had to be--the flight was leaving in 20 minutes) and $30 later, we were set. Saved our vacation!

RICHARD BOWEN

Foothill Ranch