Docs were emailed directly to the sellers and they found me online.
When I arrived there was a cover letter from the GA law firm that stated the usual requirements:
1. Sign in Blue ink
2. Sign names as typed
3. Witness required on 2 documents. Witness and notary cannot be related to the signers.
4. Do not change dates on any documents.
In the process of signing the documents I discovered that the dates in the notarial certificates were preprinted for 09/25/14. I told the signers that I had to correct these dates to reflect the current date as this is an integral part of the notarization process. They seemed fine with this and we proceeded with the signing. Before I left I gave them an extra business card so they could include it in the FedEx package when they shipped the docs back to the GA law firm.
At 8:30 am today, I received a call from the signer. He was concerned about the date change in the notarial certificates and read the instructions to me. After the request not to change any dates (I had not read past this sentence) there were further instructions that this included the dates on the notarial certificates. The law firm stated that this was the "transaction date" and needed to match the dates on all the other documents.
I explained to him that Florida notary statute prohibits the use of any date other than the current date in the notarial certificate, therefore this was an illegal request. If they needed the notarial certificates to show the date as 09/25/14, then the docs needed to be signed and notarized on 09/25/14. I offered to email him the pertinent state statute so he could forward it on to the law firm in GA.
I would be available to meet with them again on 09/25/14 and they could then get a courier service to drive the original docs up to GA that morning or they could see if faxing the signed docs would be acceptable to the law firm. He asked if I would charge for this and I replied that since this would be a separate trip there would be a charge.
He said that he would check with the law firm and call me back if they wanted to re-sign.
I know GA law requires an attorney to conduct real estate signings, but question whether this pertains only to purchase and refinance signings or if it also covers seller only transactions. After all, a Deed is being signed to transfer ownership from seller to buyer. I have performed signings where a GA property is being bought or refinanced and these signings have always involved the buyer/borrower speaking to a GA attorney on the phone at the beginning of the signing. I am assuming that these sellers had spoken to the attorney earlier in the day because they did not call when I was there at 7:30 last night.
If the practices of this law firm represents the norm in GA, how many other notaries have been bullied into performing illegal notarizations? |
