Notary Notes Magazine - DEMO - (Page 3)

NOTARY NOTES Pennsylvania Association of Notaries and enjoy Notary Notes. —Floyd D., Berks Floyd, thanks for the compliments. Perhaps a clarification is needed here. By reviewing we mean scanning for blank lines, noting where signatures are required, making sure the notarial wording is accurate, making sure the numbered pages are in order, etc., before taking the documents to the customer for signatures. By no means do we feel the notary should “explain the documents to the customer.” That is the responsibility of the lender or of the borrower’s legal representative. Sorry for the misunderstanding, and congratulations on your retirement. Can you notarize a document signed using a pencil? —Sandy B., Philadelphia Yes. No. Well, we’re not sure. This is a tricky question, Sandy, so we went right to the Secretary of State’s office for an answer. A spokesperson for the Secretary’s office says there is nothing to prohibit a notary from notarizing a document signed in pencil. In fact, a notary could even notarize a document in pencil (although the spokesperson thinks this would be a very poor practice and the document might not be acceptable for recording). Still, there can be a large gulf between what the best practices are and what is legally permitted. The few cases the Commonwealth has seen regarding pen vs. pencil involved wills and voting, and all held that there is no difference between writing in ink and writing in pencil as far as being effective to convey the signer’s intent. Whether it’s legal or not, we would recommend not notarizing a document signed in pencil. June/July 2008 | Notary Notes | Page 3 Can you tell me what you need to do if you lose your notarial register or if your register is destroyed in a fire? —Diane O., Allegheny Thanks, Diane. It’s a good question. You need to get a new register immediately. The very first entry in your new register should note that your old register was stolen, lost, destroyed in a fire or whatever the circumstances dictate. Make sure you also note the date of the loss. In the August/September 2002 edition of Notary Notes, you had a twopage article, “Cost of Recording Deeds and Mortgages,” that listed recording fees for every county in Pennsylvania. This article was very helpful. I kept the issue to remind me of how much the article helped me. I suggest you should do this every year for notaries who work in real estate. —Ann Marie Y, Lehigh Ann Marie, this is a great idea and thank you for writing to us. You would not believe the number of readers who have asked us to publish recording fees annually. You also probably would not believe the number of calls we get from customers complaining that they took only $15 to the recorder’s office and found out the fee had been raised to $17 a mere one week after we published the fee list. www.notary.org Please make sure you call the appropriate office to get the most current rate. The list is in this issue on Page 8. I have a question with regards to the article “Education and Communication Vital in Deterring Mortgage Fraud” in the April/May 2008 edition of Notary Notes. This statement bothered me: “It’s up to the notary to receive and review loan documents from the title company, lender or signing service.” Do we really want to advocate reviewing loan documents? After retiring from the title industry after 40 years, I find this a dangerous concept. I think we would be rendering a legal opinion. It’s time for lending institutions to provide representatives to review and explain their documents. This statement may give new notaries the impression that this is an acceptable service. After being a notary for 35 years, I am a believer in the http://www.notary.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Notary Notes Magazine - DEMO

Notary Notes Magazine - DEMO Contents From PAN’s Mailbox From the President’s Desk Notary Notes is Going Green PAN Can Help Member Businesses Complete All Appointment and Reappointment Tasks Before You Notarize CSR Handles a Wide Range of Customers’ Bond Questions PAN and Staples Work Together to Make it Easy for Members PAN Member Slowing Down (Well, Sort of) After 45 Years PA Recorder of Deeds Fees 2008 Notary 101: Protect Yourself Against Liability When Will You Need E&O? Sister of Mercy Appreciates PAN Attorney Knows Notary Law When it Comes to Venue To Keep or Not to Keep Copies Signing Up for Protection: Another Bill-and-Ralph Story Affidavits Spring Into Action Against Trampolines Pennsylvania Announces Notary Disciplinary Actions Help Us Prevent ID Theft The Electronic Notary: Electronic Notary Initiative Moving Slowly Seminar Schedules Know Your Forms: MV-44 Form MV-913 Revised for 2008 NASCAR Race Season Environmental Protection Publishes Final CARB Certification Regulations Old Editions of MV-4ST are Obsolete June 1

Notary Notes Magazine - DEMO

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