Posted by MW/VA on 7/2/12 8:28am
Msg #425354

GA closing loop-hole on "witness only" closings. As a

follow-up to discussions last week, "Source of Title" is running an article on this. It appears that GA is seeking to become a truly "attorney only" state, and not allow notary involvement at all.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/2/12 8:52am
Msg #425358

I read that...they re-worded portions of the legislation

that people were using and more specifically defined "Settlement Agent" as "lender" rather than "person"..here scroll down to Section 15

http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/search/sb365.htm

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/2/12 8:57am
Msg #425359

Sorry..posted too soon.

I think the question may come down to the definition of "Settlement" which, in Ga, is

"(9) "Settlement" means the time when the settlement agent has received the duly executed deed to secure debt and other loan documents and funds required to carry out the terms of the contracts between the parties."

If this definition holds, I don't think they closed a loophole - I think they opened a wider one..

Reply by Les_CO on 7/2/12 9:55am
Msg #425368

I’ve been told by very reliable sources that as July 1 that not only must the closing be presented by a GA attorney, the disbursal must be done by and through a GA attorney (not necessarily the same person)

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/2/12 9:58am
Msg #425369

The closing itself, all along, was supposed to have been

done by a GA attorney - *unless* the person conducting it was employed by the lender. Notaries in GA were not supposed to be doing these for a very very long time...apparently someone didn't believe it. I think there's a discussion here from some time ago, commented on by PAW and Toby (both dearly departed and sorely missed) - it was made abundantly clear that GA is, and has been for some time, an attorney-only state. (I've been doing closings in FL since 2006 - it's been like that since before then)...

Reply by Les_CO on 7/2/12 12:01pm
Msg #425385

Re: The closing itself, all along, was supposed to have been

I don’t know about the “*unless* the person conducting it is employed by the lender” I think most lenders want to keep arms-length. I suppose ‘employed by’ is different than ‘employees of’, but unless that person is also an attorney I can’t see where it would fly.
I do know that for some time the security instrument(s) (Security Deed) recorded in GA have a “CLOSING ATTORNEY’S AFFIDAVIT” that must be signed by the ‘closing attorney’ and that signature is notarized. So unless the notary or any person presenting the ‘closing’ is an attorney, or they are forging an attorneys name, and having that forged signature notarized, it won’t record. So anyone saying that they are doing closings in GA that is not an attorney is just totally full of it. I think I said this of the poster on this forum claiming they were doing signings/closings in GA last week.

Reply by MW/VA on 7/2/12 2:04pm
Msg #425392

Here's a copy of the letter from Nov., 2011.......

garealpropertylaw.com/2011/01/request-​for-formal...
I googled "georgia witness only closings" and came up with this link. There's a link in the first paragraph that takes you to the letter from the GA Bar.
I know I've done a few GA property closings in the past, with an attorney on the phone. That was a pretty loose interpretation, I admit, and the attorney usually just goes over the requirements of GA law, rather than the actual transaction.
I would never attempt to cross the line in the "attorney only" states.
Also, I recently saw that an ss I work with has posted that they are no longer doing "witness only" closings in Massachusetts (an "attorney only" state).

Reply by Les_CO on 7/2/12 4:14pm
Msg #425404

Re: Here's a copy of the letter from Nov., 2011.......

To the best of my knowledge out-of-state closings on a GA property can be done with the ‘telephone supervision’ of a GA attorney, but a GA attorney must still sign the affidavit on the ‘security deed’ and as of July 1, must do the disbursal, not the title company.

Reply by MW/VA on 7/3/12 8:51am
Msg #425430

Once again, I think there is a lot of confusion about our

role in the process. We do not act as the settlement agent (tc or attorney), do any funding or disbursements, etc.