Posted by ArtC on 2/26/13 7:02pm
Msg #458040

Identification Challenge

Last night I had a signing that I'm not sure if I did right. I'll make up the name to keep this confidential but here is the situation:

The name on her identification was Julie Jean LopezCho; a last name with no hyphen. The document that I had to notarize was already preprinted with the name Julie Jean Cho on her signature line and also preprinted in the notarized portion of the text. Since she has to sign exactly the way it is written and it was less than her identification, I felt it was ok for her to sign it Julie Jean Cho. BUT for the notarized text, I crossed out & initialed the preprinted notarized text to reflect what the id showed which was LopezCho. I'm not sure if this was right, I haven't gotten a call from the escrow yet, but can anybody give me any feeback on if this was the right thing to do, I am second guessing myself now. One more thing, she stated that she normally goes by LopezCho but her husband is just Cho.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Reply by MikeC/TX on 2/26/13 7:37pm
Msg #458044

You are notarizing a signature, not the contents of a document. Your notarization has to reflect the ID that was presented to you. If that doesn't agree with the name the lender wants to see, it's really not your problem.

The person who appeared before you and provided an ID is Jean LopezCho, and that's whose signature you would notarize. If the docs have other names for her, the lender or TC has to sort that out. You should have called once you saw the discrepancy; there's nothing you can do as a notary to fix it without their direction.

Reply by Jessica/FL on 2/26/13 7:44pm
Msg #458045

The identification used may contain more information but not less.

Reply by Sha/CA on 2/26/13 7:49pm
Msg #458046

I agree with Jessica. n/m

Reply by VT_Syrup on 2/26/13 7:56pm
Msg #458047

Checking ID needs to be done by notaries, not machines, because there are too many diverse naming customs for machines to handle. Notaries must use the type of ID, witnesses, and personal knowledge that is acceptable in the several states to make reasonably certain the person who signed is the person described in the document. In the case of the Hispanic culture, there is some flexibility in terms of whether a signer uses her mother's surname and or her father's surname, and this flexibility should be taken into account. Then there are the oddities of how DMVs mangle people's names. So it comes down to whether you used the ID presented and your knowledge of human naming customs to be reasonably certain the person who signed was the person named in the document.

I know some people copy the name from the ID, regardless of what name variation appears in the document. I don't. If I'm not convinced the name in the document is highly likely to apply to the person in front of me, I'm not going to notarize. If I am sure it's the right person, I will write the name in the document in the certificate. I believe that's why the person or government that asked for a notarization expects and is entitled to. Who care's if some person show's their real ID, if they aren't the person who is supposed to sign?

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 2/27/13 12:06am
Msg #458078

Well, u just need to wait and see if escrow/title will go for the change you made. In my experience, it's wouldn't fly. But other notaries might have different experiences. Regardless of what her ID said, which in your case was more not less and therefore "OK," she signed her name the way it was preprinted on the docs and, therefore, you had no need to change it on the acks/jurats to match her ID. You're notarizing her signature, not her name on her ID.

Also, it doesn't matter what she "normally goes by" or what her husband is. It matters what's on her ID and how her name is preprinted on the loan docs' signature lines. My rule of thumb is to notarize the signature on the loan docs that matches exactly the way it's preprinted on the docs, whether you can read it or not. As soon as someone signs their name differently than what's on the docs, and by extension, you change the preprinted name on the docs to something else, there could be trouble ahead.

Reply by ArtG/KS on 2/27/13 7:12am
Msg #458097

Notarize according to government issued ID, get the variation on the signature name affidavit and call and advise the title company if possible, while still at the signing. If unable to reach the title company, then let it fly. It may or may not be a redraw of docs, but that is up to the lender and title company to work out if we cannot reach them for advise.

Reply by Resilient/MD on 2/27/13 8:19am
Msg #458112

In short you can have her add that name to the name/signature affidavit if its a refinance.

Reply by VT_Syrup on 2/27/13 9:05am
Msg #458132

I don't think putting the name on the ID in the certificate, and then having the name on the ID added to the signature affidavit will solve all problems in all states (that is, the state where the property is located). The land records recorder isn't going to see the signature affidavit. If the name in the certificate does not match the name in the document, the recorder might have a problem with it (although at least one veteran on this board is in the habit of putting the name from the ID in the certificate, and hasn't had any complaints). You can find websites from Pennsylvania recorders saying the name in the certificate must match the name in the document (but then, maybe their concept of "match" is a bit flexible, who knows).

Reply by CarolF/NC on 2/27/13 9:03am
Msg #458130

Goldgirl, I am curious..what name do you use on the name ID

forms? In NC I have been advised that we have to notarize by the name on the ID or in conjunction with collateral verification. However if you have Mary Nancy Smith on id, then you can assume Mary N. Smith or M. Nancy Smith is the same person, no need to change your certification. But if you have a name misspell, or a name left out, then you need to add the corrected name to your certifications and have them sign docs with an AKA. I find it all very complicated This is why someone along the way should verify the ID and get the docs right.