Posted by Kristie Sotelo on 6/18/09 5:05pm
Msg #292742

Attaching

I am about to notarize a lease and need to attach a ACK or Jurat. Do I need to write / sign anything on the original document?

Reply by janCA on 6/18/09 5:08pm
Msg #292743

You are notarizing the signature on the lease.

Make sure the lease is complete, fill out the notarial certificate, sign and stamp.

Reply by Kristie Sotelo on 6/18/09 5:10pm
Msg #292744

Thanks for responding so quickly. So I don't do anything to to lease, only the loose cert? Unless of course the wording is in the lease itself, correct?

Reply by janCA on 6/18/09 5:14pm
Msg #292745

You're really not to be concerned with the lease, except that it is complete. If there is no notarial wording, which the one's I have done you have to attach the certificate, ask the individual whose signature you are notarizing what type of certificate they want. If it is a jurat, be sure to give the oath.

Reply by Kristie Sotelo on 6/18/09 5:21pm
Msg #292746

Thanks.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 6/18/09 8:36pm
Msg #292762

Here's what I do...

When I have to attach a loose form, I make sure the loose form refers to the document in some way. IN the bottom half of my loose forms I have spaces for the document title, the capacity claimed by the signer, etc.

If there is a cert on the signature that is non-compliant with CA wording... and we all know that a lot of the time, that's the case... I line through it and I have two very distinct stamps that use, rather than write "see attached".

For acks, it says, "Please see attached for CA Civil Code 1189 Compliant Acknowledgment"

Yes, I know it's likely going overboard... but I've had several people whine at me about attaching forms or using the one they so painstakingly typed up for me, so I make sure that my stamp references the specific code that prescribes the wording. They can then look it up on their own and i can "blame" the nameless PTB for what I do rather than doing something will-nilly.

I had a great mentor who taught me to do that. She always said, "Approach every act as if you will be testifying about it in court."

In other words... it never hurts to do more than required to make sure you're covered. She affectionately it called her CYA Insurance Policy.

You do NOT have to write anything on the signature page. There is no requirement for that. However, you should develop your own security routine for your notarizations to prevent fraud. I think every notary should do this. That way, should you ever have to testify or be questioned about fraudulent documents, you can say, 'This is my routine... this is what my work looks like and this is how I recorded it in my journal." You don't want anyone to have a shred of doubt about your work. That's just my opinion, of course.