This reminds me of an unresolved issue in my state, VT, and other RULONA states "a certificate shall be part of, or securely attached to, the record." [26 V.S.A. § 5367(f)(1)] The strictest interpretation is that the fastening device, such as a staple, must attach all the pages of the document together. A middle interpretation is that it's good enough if the certificate is stapled to the page with the signer's certificate. The loosest interpretation is that somehow loan signing packages are exempt, because they're going to get pulled apart and scanned when they get to the title company anyway.
Certainly the strictest interpretation would outlaw what Yoli/CA was asked to do. My state does not say in so many words that documents must be complete. My rational for refusing to notarize incomplete documents would be that the signer is unable to understand the documents. (Nobody can understand a seriously incomplete document.) |
