Of course we don't know how the final notary IDed the signer; maybe the signer dug up an ID in the former name that either wasn't expired, or was within any grace period that NC allows. Maybe there was a credible witness.
If I were faced with that situation, the name in the document goes in the certificate every time. If the document says Jane Jones AKA Jane Smith, the name(s) I have proof for go in the certificate. If I have proof of both names, both go in the certificate. If the document only says Jane Jones and I only have proof for the name Jane Smith, that's a no-go. In that situation I would not put Jane Smith in the certificate because, as far as I have proof of, the person in front of me is Jane Smith and she has no business signing the document.
As far as middle names and initials go, I follow the official comments in the version of RULONA that is in force in my state, which can be found here:
https://www.uniformlaws.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=68063cbb-5281-e32f-ebed-2b5f8cc45ff5&forceDialog=1
The comment is on page 19.
"Identification of an individual based on an identification credential requires some flexibility. For example, it is not uncommon that an individual’s name as used in a record may be a full name, including a full middle name; however, the name of the individual as provided on the identification credential may only use a middle initial or none at all. The inconsistency may be vice versa instead. The notarial officer should recognize these common inconsistencies when performing the identification of an individual. However, if a notarial officer is ultimately uncertain about the identity of the individual, the notarial officer should refuse to perform the notarial act (see Section 8.) |
