Posted by Mung/CA on 11/22/13 2:19pm
Msg #493724

CA POA question.

Aleady searched and read previous posts but still unsure. I had a poa signing where the wife signed for the husband. So far so good. The acks had pre-printed "Jon Doe by Jane Doe as atty in fact". I crossed out everything except Jane Doe. Now for the jurats. Some people have said to add Acks and remove thye jurat. I don't agree with this. Instead I left the jurat alone and just notarized the wife's name. As an example, on the Occupancy Affidavit I left the jurat and struck out the husbands name and just notaorized the wife's name since she signed the doc for him as his AIF also. Your thoughts? I'm gonna send docs soon. Thanks.

Reply by Bernice/CA on 11/22/13 2:37pm
Msg #493727

When using a POA, we are suppose to replace the Jurat with an Acknowledgement.

Reply by Yoli/CA on 11/22/13 3:07pm
Msg #493728

It is not up to the notary to decide which notarial certificate to use.

Given the OP's scenario, I would've first attempted to contact hiring party for direction. If not available, I would've attempted to leave message requesting direction and proceeded to other docs. If, by the end of signing, hiring party has not returned call, I would've proceeded as OP did. I would also have put a note at front of package explaining situation to receiving party.

If this was Title's oversight - after all, they knew AIF was signing - then there may be a second paid trip to correct that/those doc/s with Jurat to an Acknowledgment.

JMPO

Reply by JanetK_CA on 11/22/13 3:45pm
Msg #493733

Re: CA POA question. Agree.

I agree with Yoli. I would - and have - done exactly as the OP did, without any comment or feedback one way or the other. I just notarized the person who was in front of me who WAS able to take an oath. I don't see a problem with an Occupancy Affidavit. A Signature Affidavit for the principal who wasn't there is another issue altogether, obviously, because you can't provide someone else's signature for them. In the past, I've just left those blank for the person who wasn't there. Again, never heard a peep.

When you keep it simple and don't over-think those POA situations, it's not really that complicated.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/22/13 3:56pm
Msg #493734

Agreed with Janet and Yolanda....

We cannot decide what type of certificate to use. If they want a jurat... you do a jurat. To do otherwise is to start making legal decisions (or giving advice) that you have no authority or right to be doing.

If a jurat is ultimately not appropriate for any given situation, that's up to the document recipient or a court of law to figure out... not us.

We are NOT concerned with the content of a document. This is even easier when dealing with jurats... because with a jurat, the person singing is simply swearing to the contents. Don't concern yourself with POA/AIF status... it is irrelevant to the notarization. If Jane Doe swears to the contents of a document... that what she does. Period. Don't get overly involved in anything else. You're asking for trouble if you do.

Reply by Bernice/CA on 11/22/13 4:17pm
Msg #493743

Correction .... When I've experienced this situation, was advised by the SS to substitute the Jurat for a Acknowledgement.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 11/22/13 4:39pm
Msg #493744

Great example of why to not get advice about notarial procedures from a signing service. We are answerable to our own state law on those issues and no one else - and each responsible for making sure we understand them. Good that you mentioned that, because I'm sure so many others have done the same thing.

Reply by Mung/CA on 11/22/13 5:30pm
Msg #493748

What's an OP? n/m

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/22/13 5:45pm
Msg #493749

OP = Original Post(er) n/m

Reply by LKT/CA on 11/22/13 7:14pm
Msg #493764

Word of Caution - FWIW

I agree with how you handled it but I want to caution you regarding strike outs/lining through incorrect info. I'm seeing more and more that real estate related docs - even in general notary work - are getting kicked back because they're not CLEAN. Companies are saying that lining thru incorrect info, even in the notarial certs make the docs look sloppy/tacky/messy/unpolished/etc.

I notarize at a local bank branch and their acknowledgment certs include trustee capacity - i.e. John Doe, Trustee of the John Doe Family Living Trust, etc. The rest of the acknowledgment wording is compliant for CA.

When I inform the bank agent of CA notary law regarding capacity, they opt for the loose acknowledgment cert rather than a line through any wording on their preprinted cert. I also did some GNW and the docs were real estate related. The man was here and his ex-wife was in another state. He was FedEx'ing the docs to her after I notarized his part. Her name was in the acknowledgments so I lined through her name, initialed and completed the preprinted compliant acknowledgments.

The man contacted me to say that docs got kicked back because the ex-wife's name was spelled incorrectly under the signature lines. She lined through the wrong spelling and initialed. The company didn't want anything lined out AT ALL were the man's words so when I notarized the new set, I was about to line through her name in the certs again and he stopped me. He said that he didn't want to take any chances on the docs being rejected with any strike outs so I said I'd attach my own clean acknowledgments.

With all of that said, just be careful about lining through even what is OUR domain - notarial certs. Double check instructions or even call the hiring party for clarity. Companies want CLEAN docs and CLEAN notarial certs.