Posted by Dawn/CA on 3/23/06 8:31pm
Msg #108225

aka name on acknowledgment

John Smith took title as John Smith. ID only has John Smith, Jr. They are changing Grant Deed to John Smith Jr. SS wants me to put John Smith AKA John Smith, Jr. on acknowledgment. I told them I have a problem with that because I am not seeing ID as John Smith at all. Am I right on this or not? Thanks for you help in advance.

Reply by janCA on 3/23/06 8:48pm
Msg #108228

Dawn, You're saying the ID has John Smith, Jr. on it. How are you not seeing ID as John Smith? I see nothing wrong with what the SS wants you to do.

Reply by janCA on 3/23/06 8:49pm
Msg #108229

What is on the signature line of the Grant Deed? John Smith? n/m

Reply by Dawn/CA on 3/23/06 8:52pm
Msg #108230

Re: What is on the signature line of the Grant Deed? John Smith?

Signature line has John Smith, Jr. But how do I know he is also John Smith? What if that's his dad? This is just how I was taught. And if it says Jr. on signature line, why wouldn't he just sign with Jr.?

Reply by AngelinaAZ on 3/23/06 8:59pm
Msg #108231

Re: What is on the signature line of the Grant Deed? John Smith?

You aren't notarizing as John Smith.. you are notarizing as John Smith aka John Smith Jr.. If his ID says John Smith Jr you are good to go.

The ID has more... and that's what you care about.

Reply by AngelinaAZ on 3/23/06 8:59pm
Msg #108232

But I'm in AZ so I'll butt out! n/m

Reply by janCA on 3/23/06 9:03pm
Msg #108233

Re: What is on the signature line of the Grant Deed? John Smith?

So you're saying that the ID says John Smith, Jr and the signature line says John Smith, Jr. His dad would probably be John Smith, Sr. But since the signature line only has John Smith, Jr. that's how you notarize. You have the control over what you put in the acknowledgement. If the signature line were to say John Smith aka John Smith, Jr. then that's how you would notarize.

Reply by Dawn/CA on 3/23/06 9:11pm
Msg #108234

Re: What is on the signature line of the Grant Deed? John Smith?

Thanks for your help,

Reply by Anonymous on 3/24/06 6:32am
Msg #108271

Jan - you are partially correct, but not totally correct

The signature line says, John Smith so the borrower signs John Smith. Dawn said the ID was
John Smith JR - not the same name name and no it's not more, it is different. However, the SOS says it's okay but that doesn't mean that Dawn changes the signature line.

Dawn, just get credible withnesses and be done with it He signs his name the way the signature line is -- you MUST notarize the way his ID is (or in this case, you could have used credible witnesses and ID'd him that way). I BET THE SIGNING SERVICE GAVE DAWN ADVICE??? DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!

Reply by janCA on 3/24/06 12:39pm
Msg #108366

Re: Jan - you are partially correct, but not totally correct

Please go back and read the posts. Signature line has John Smith, Jr. And you have to be careful using credible witnesses. These are only to be used if there is NO other ID available. In this case, there is available ID. Refer to the CA Handbook on CW's.

Reply by CaliNotary on 3/24/06 12:52pm
Msg #108367

Re: What is on the signature line of the Grant Deed? John Sm

What if it's one of the other zillion John Smith's out there in the world? Or a Jose Garcia? Or Mary Johnson? There are plenty of duplicate names in a given area, and they're not always related.

I would have no problem notarizing John Smith with an ID that says John Smith Jr. Our job isn't to identify WHICH John Smith he is, just that he is John Smith. He's still John Smith. If a driver's license shows a middle name, but the docs only show first and last name do you refuse to notarize as well? If not, why not? It's the exact same scenario as you presented.

If you're that concerned about this kind of stuff, check the loan application, that should show the date of birth that you can compare to the DL.

And I agree that this wouldn't be a credible witness situation. Why on earth would you need to people to say "yep, he's John Smith" when you have and ID that already says John Smith on it?

Reply by TitleGalCA on 3/24/06 12:59pm
Msg #108368

Excuse me...who's the grantor?

Please clarify something...you are acknowledging a grant deed only, correct?

The Grantor is John Smith who is deeding to the Grantee, John Smith, Jr. It is required that you notarized the GRANTOR'S signature, not the grantee. Therefore, the acknowledgement could ONLY be for John Smith, as he is the Grantor.

"Who's names are *subscribed* to the within instrument" is what the ack reads, and John Smith has to sign the deed.

As far as the ID, he had more in the ID than less, and if all the physical charactistics/address/pic matches, go for it.

Yeah, the SS wants us all to do stuff that makes them all comfy cozy. Guess what? You as a notary just do your job.