VERY important info from a friend!
The statement below could be added to the complaint to get them motivated.
If added, then the statement can be used in court as part of a business communication.
this drives home the importance of the roll the notaries play .
ESSENTIAL NOTARY STANDARDS
AND
PRINCIPLES IN THE RECORDING PROCESS
Notary Public Sub-Committee of the
Property Records Industry Joint Task Force
Standards Committee June 16, 2002
Introduction
The offices of county recorder and notary public share a joint focus of attention:
real property documents. Both recorder and notary are dedicated to ensuring the
reliability and authenticity of the land record.
Because a major function of the county recorder is to create and maintain an
accessible and authentic public record of documentary transactions affecting title to real
property, the importance of any recorded document’s authenticity is paramount. The
essential function of a notary1 is to ensure such authenticity. Notaries are appointed by
the states to serve the public as impartial witnesses and, though their exact duties may
vary from state to state,2 all notaries have the duty to witness signatures, administer oaths
and take a signer’s acknowledgment that a signature was freely made. While there are
several common notarizations, including signature witnessings and copy certifications, it
is the acknowledgment that is the predominant notarization in real estate authentication.
In an acknowledgment, the notary certifies having positively identified a document signer
who personally appeared before the notary and admitted having signed the document
freely. 3
Because the authenticity of any recordable document depends on the quality of its
acknowledgment, the significance of a proper notarization cannot be overstated.
The recorder, as public archivist, accepts documents presented as authentic
provided that the final authentication act – the acknowledgment – appears properly
executed. Thus, necessarily, the recorder in particular and society in general repose great trust in the notary’s capability as a screening agent.
Since notarization is the final act before a document can be accepted into the
public record, the Property Records Industry Joint Task Force recognizes that the
successful administration of a secure and reliable land records system entails providing specific standards for notaries handling recordable instruments in order to reduce
document rejection and facilitate automated processing of documents by the recorder. It
also entails strong encouragement for notarial education and support of notarial principles
and practices that will ensure the integrity of the real property conveyance process.