Nicknames are not Legal Names
This morning, I showed up at a home to help with a refinance signing. The woman handed me her ID, and we had already begun signing into the online documents. I was planning to fill out my journal while they completed that part, and then I would help them with the notarized documents I had brought with me.
Only, she handed me an ID that did not match what was on the documents. Not only was it a nickname, but it wasn't even spelled the same.
Title companies tell notaries all the time to simply add the variation to the Signature Name Affidavit. When the signer swears or affirms under penalty of perjury that they also go by that name, that's supposed to somehow prove they are the same person. But notary statutes require us to identify people using government-issued ID.
Refinances have to match the way the title was originally taken, and most of the time, the title is taken at a title office with a title officer or a notary on staff to handle the notarized documents. Why are people being allowed to take title in a name that doesn't belong to them?
I lost money on this transaction, left the house hours before my next signing, and won't be paid the full fee. That opens another can of worms, but that's a fight for another day.
If the person sitting before us is actually another person—a second wife, a girlfriend standing in, or someone with a fraudulent driver's license—we are the ones who would pay the price. If that lender ends up in court, the notary will likely face a claim filed against their E&O insurance. And once that happens, the damage to the notary's career can be severe. A claim can result in higher premiums, loss of coverage, or difficulty obtaining insurance in the future.
I'm not saying this woman wasn't who she claimed to be. I'm saying that a Signature Name Affidavit doesn't magically prove identity. It is simply the signer's statement. The burden of identifying the signer still falls on the notary, and "they swore they go by that name" is not much comfort if something turns out to be wrong years later.
Nicknames are fine in everyday life. Legal documents involving hundreds of thousands of dollars deserve something better than "Close enough."
This is why I poured myself into the last 6 months of writing my book. I included a chapter about this issue in my book as well as so many other issues. I am passionate about this industry and I want to see things done right.
