Posted by Serina/VT on 7/15/07 1:03pm
Msg #199992

Question for Michigan Notary

Purchase closing with a mortgage on Detroit property, Title company filled in the notary blocks with all Michigan info, but mortgage was signed here in VT. Will they take a loose cert with VT wording? And does Michigan require witnesses to the mortgage?

TYIA

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 7/15/07 2:32pm
Msg #199996

I am sure Julie will be along to answer you Serina. But Michigan no longer requires witnesses.(But the lender may!)
When you say Michigan info on notary block if you mean state and county in the venue, can't you just line through and put the correct county and venue. That is what I would do.

If you mean the wording on the certificate, I just looked at the short guide for VT notaries and it said that while VT law does not require a particular form for acknowledgments they do show a typical one as an example.

Reply by Julie/MI on 7/15/07 2:48pm
Msg #199998

Simply line through the incorrect state and county and put in the correct venue and initial. Initial is optional but this way the crotchity old recorder will not have a reason to reject.

No witnesses required, that was abolished in 2003.

Michigan will take any notary stuff from another state, we are not picky that way

Reply by Marlene/USNA on 7/16/07 1:43pm
Msg #200081

Did you have your tongue in your cheek on that one, Julie?! n/m

Reply by BrendaTx on 7/16/07 2:04pm
Msg #200086

I'll bet Julie was dead straight on that one. Tx would

do likewise...and we actually do accept most all notary language from any other state...as long as it has the elements of our own.

Reply by Marlene/USNA on 7/16/07 3:49pm
Msg #200108

I thought she was kidding!

In 2001 in Michigan, SUE H. APSEY and ROBERT APSEY, JR. v MEMORIAL HOSPITAL turned the medical legal community on its ear. In a nutshell:

Sue Apsey went to Memorial Hospital for an exploratory laparotomy, which resulted in the removal of a large ovarian cyst. Medical complications followed this procedure. Plaintiffs allege that various acts of medical malpractice caused her to become septic, necessitating several follow-up surgeries. Plaintiffs' affidavit of merit (expert testimony) was prepared in Pennsylvania and signed by a Pennsylvania notary.

The hospital moved to have the case dismissed because that additional certification of the notary - required by an 1879 Michigan state law that hadn't been used in years and was thought to be moot - meant the affidavit of merit was incomplete. The trial court granted the motion for dismissal. Without the affidavit, plaintiffs' complaint was not complete, and their cause of action failed for never having been properly commenced.

About 1,000 pending medical malpractice cases relying on out-of-state medical experts were in danger of being dismissed for the same reason.

This case ran up against the Uniform Acknowledgment Act (if it's substantially the same, it's good enough) and finally, after arguments and appeals, the court ruled in May 2007 that the notary's affidavit was good enough.

Which is why I was kidding Julie - because Michigan wouldn't take the PA notary's affidavit.

I was trying to find a source for you to read the whole thing if you like, but couldn't find an up-to-date one. I'll send a PDF to anyone who might be interested in reading the whole sordid mess.

[e-mail address]

Reply by Joan_OH on 7/15/07 7:25pm
Msg #200014

Use black ink in your Mort Notary Certificate

I got one rejected when I used blue - per lender's and title's instructions.

Joan-OH

Reply by Dorothy_MI on 7/15/07 10:27pm
Msg #200023

Yes, use black ink

Most if not all the MI recorders require the notarial portion be filled in in black ink. Borrowers may sign in blue if that is a lender requirement.