Posted by Anonymous on 4/25/06 1:06pm
Msg #115784

stupid question

If you do a closing with docs that were dated for the day before are you suppose to change the dates on the docs, ie. the note says 4/21 but the BO signs 4/22. Is the BO suppose to change the date and intial. Everywhere where there was a date for the BO to date they put the correct date and I had them change the RTC and initial.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 4/25/06 1:14pm
Msg #115786

Often docs are not date sensitive. I have had docs that were dated up to a week before the signing. As long as the borrower signs with correct date and RTC dates are corrected you are fine.


BTW the stupid question is usually the one you don't ask

Reply by Anonymous on 4/25/06 1:17pm
Msg #115788

Where there was a place to put the date the borrower put there correct date with his signature but I didn't change every single date on the doc. I was not told they were date sensitive. Just the BO couldn't sign that day. The TC is questioning it....saying they are checking with the lender if they will accept it.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 4/25/06 1:44pm
Msg #115795

Ok - do you mean the borrower wasn't available on the date you were assigned to do the signing? Any time this happens I call the company to ask if the docs are date sensitive. If they are and they cannot be signed on the correct date the company will have to redraw the docs - as we cannot backdate.

Reply by Anonymous on 4/25/06 1:49pm
Msg #115800

well they sent me the docs dated for the day before and never mentioned to me anything about them being date sensitive...the husband was not available that date. The wife did mention to me about the date because of that reason.

The TC let me know it was ok as long as the RTC dates were changed.

Reply by lulu on 4/25/06 1:45pm
Msg #115797

You can sign documents after the date on the docs but cannot sign on date prior to date of docs. It is not up to the notary to change the date of the documents and you cannot notarize anything other than the date the bo signed. RTC always has to be changed to reflect the date the bo signed.

Reply by Anonymous on 4/25/06 1:51pm
Msg #115801

That's exactly what I thought. I always just have them date the current date if there is a place for the date when they sign the document and always change the RTC. I second guessed myself and thought maybe I did something wrong. You'd think the TC would know that but who knows.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 4/25/06 2:04pm
Msg #115803

Docs can have an effective date on them. You may sign before the printed date. Have the borrowers sign and date with the actual date they sign. Have them correct, initial, sign and date for actual date on the RTC. Notarize where needed with the actual date. Don't change preprinted dates on the rest of the docs.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 4/25/06 2:12pm
Msg #115805

now I'm confuseled...

Experienced SA's say you CANNOT sign prior to the date on the docs, experienced SA's say you CANNOT sign after the date on the docs....am I reading this thread incorrectly?

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 4/25/06 2:24pm
Msg #115809

Re: now I'm confuseled...

Jane brings me a form that has a prerinted effective date 5/5/06. She signs and dates with current date and I notarize her signature. That is ok.

It is also ok to sign after the preprinted date on docs. Just sign and date with the actual date that you are signing.

There is a notary association out there that will argue that you cannot sign something before the prerprinted date on the instrument (in the case of loan docs). Their argument as I understand it is that the doc doesn't exist before the date. However it is not against the law for a doc to have an effective date and they don't write the law.

Also we aren't responsible for the contents of the instrument.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 4/25/06 2:28pm
Msg #115811

Thank you Sara Beth...

That has always been my understanding. I have had docs dated 2 weeks into the future and had the sign date left open between myself and the borrowers. I have also signed docs per lender a day after the date on the docs. I have also signed the day after per LO and had to return to sign redrawn docs. From what I've seen there is no hard and fast rule here.

Reply by Marlene/USNA on 4/25/06 3:30pm
Msg #115830

That would be us "out there."

A future effective date on the docs is one thing. Having a date in the future as the document date is another.

Reply by lulu on 4/25/06 4:10pm
Msg #115842

Re: now I'm confuseled...

Yes documents cannot be signed prior to their existence. A document date in the future from the date the borrower is signing and dating is wrong. One cannot date a document prior to its existence.

Reply by Jon on 4/25/06 11:32pm
Msg #115988

Re: now I'm confuseled...

The date on the document does not prove whether or not the document exists. If I type a letter with the date of 7/18/2025 on 4/25/2006, the letter still exists regardless of the date.

The legal ramifications of a doc dated in the future is an entirely different discussion, but no one in their right mind can say that the doc "doesn't exist" if they are holding the actual doc in their hand. In CA, the SOS has determined that the date is considered part of the content of the document and therefore has no bearing on whether or not the notary can notarize the doc. If a notary in CA refuses to notarize a doc based on the date of the doc, they are in violation of state law which compels us to notarize any proper request.