but this thread reminds me of the British TV series "Mrs. Wilson," in which, upon the death of her husband, finds out that he has another family. The show is based on real life, and the guy was actually married to four women (that they know of) all at the same time and had families. They were all shocked to find each other. I'm sure that all the wives and their kids would swear up down and sideways that Mr. Bigamist was "to me known to be" .. or similar wording that we see in certificates. And yes, they did know him as so and so, but did they really know him? How far do we want to go trying to define "known," as OP suggested?
So as MikeC and LD said, we can only confirm through IDs. As for those notaries who change it to "proven to me," that's great, too. Since "known" is open to so many interpretations (as Mrs. Wilson and all her co-wives found out) " proven" is much more definitive. (Personally I'd change it to "proved.") Of course, all this depends on your state's laws ….. |
