Posted by NotaryKarin on 4/4/12 5:50am
Msg #416937

Legal Name Change

I attended a REFINANCE signing last night around 7pm where one of the borrowers l
legally changed their first name. Title is held in her birth name since they bought the property before her name change so all docs of the refinance were in her birth name and she signed with her birth name, not her legal name. Her identification has her new name, but she also had a prior ID with her birth name to connect the dots and her name change paperwork. The signature name affidavit included ALL names. I have 2 questions (If you have been able to follow me). 1) Shouldn't the mortgage be held in her legal name by either doing a Quit Claim Deed or by adding F/K/A on the mortgage and 2) am I ok to notarize having both forms of Identification and a copy of the legal name change since she signed as her birth name and not her current legal name. ??? HELP!!

Reply by Teresa/FL on 4/4/12 6:19am
Msg #416938

Was the prior ID still valid (not expired)?

If there was no acceptable ID in the name printed on the documents, I would not have completed the signing.

Did you attempt to contact your hiring party?

If unable to contact the hiring party, I would have had her sign her new name FKA her old name so that I could complete the notarizations, per page 61 of the Florida Governor's Notary Reference Manual.

Reply by jba/fl on 4/4/12 7:44am
Msg #416939

Re: Was the prior ID still valid (not expired)?

Or, "Who took title as" would have worked.

Reply by Julie/MI on 4/4/12 8:41am
Msg #416942

Not our call to determine which name the mortgage docs should be held in.

Our job is determine identity and since the person had the supporting paperwork to prove identity I would have no problem acknowledging the docs in the previous name.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 4/4/12 9:01am
Msg #416943

Re: Legal Name Change...easy peasy in FL

Happens all the time here with name changes so it's outlined in our handbook very concisely:

"Sworn to (or acknowledged) before me blah blah by Jane Doe, who represented to me that she took title as Jane Smith (or was formerly known as Jane Smith), and provided <form of ID> in the name of Jane Doe as identification".

http://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/notary/ref_manual41-68.pdf