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August 3, 2018

Notary Public 101 — Scenarios: Hospital signing issues

Filed under: Technical & Legal — Tags: — admin @ 6:48 am

Have you ever done a signing in a hospital? You should be prepared, because one day you might do it. There are many issues that come up in hospital signings. First of all, it is common to have to decline service because the signer has been medicated, or has lost their mind. As a Notary, you should be aware that you can easily be subpoenaed for hospital signings as it is common for people to not remember what they signed and for people to try to take advantage, so be cautious.

As a Notary you need to be able to gauge the situation over the phone before you commit to coming, and once again gauge the situation once you are in front of the signers. The person who calls you to come to the hospital is almost never the signer, but usually a family member, Attorney, or scam artist.

Confirming the appointment.
Have your contact person read the name as it appears on the ID, and the expiration date (the expiration date of the card, or the patient, whichever comes first). Then, have the contact person read how the name appears on the document. Not only are you checking if names match, but if they even have an ID, know where it is, and have their document all ready. Confirm that they will not be medicated before you come and make sure the nurses know that the notary job is off if they medicate at all.

Once at the appointment.
Get travel fees at the door. Otherwise you will have a beneficial interest (in my opinion) in having the document signed. When you meet the signer, you can ask them questions about the document being signed. Don’t ask yes/no questions. Ask questions that make them explain the document to you. You can also make small talk about how you love what President Clinton did yesterday. If they are on the ball, they will know that President Clinton is no longer in office. You need effective ways to screen out people on morphine and those who have lost their mind. You should also ask if they have been medicated in the last twelve hours.

Comments
It is not your job to decide who gets morphine and when. However, if a signer does get medicated, let the contact person know that you will walk off with their travel fee as you do not dare notarize a medicated person who is not fully conscious, especially on a Power of Attorney.

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A tale of four notaries in hospitals
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Putting jails & hospitals in your profile’s notes section
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Power of Attorney in a nursing home
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2305

Do you like your job? A story of being kept waiting forever at a hospital.
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Notary Public 101 — Scenarios: What entities might want to see your journal?

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 6:38 am

I have gotten in hundreds of arguments with notaries from states all over the county. Those who live in states where journals are not legally required think they will not get into trouble if they don’t have one. If you end up in court, your journal is your only evidence of what happened. You might become a witness for a long case or a defendant if you don’t keep a journal regardless of what your state says.

The FBI investigates ALL Mortgage fraud. That means that if you notarize a fraudulent mortgage, don’t keep a journal, and the FBI catches up with you– you are in trouble as well as the Lender and they can name you as a suspect. The possibility of being slapped with a $20,000 Attorney fee is just not worth the risk. It is much easier just to keep a journal so that you will have some sort of evidence of what work you performed.

Here is a list of entities that might want to see your journal other than your state which may or may not require it.

1. The FBI
2. Judges in court
3. Signers
4. Attorneys
5. People who were affected directly or indirectly by something you notarized perhaps such as beneficiaries, etc.

When I was a Notary, I had three or four inquiries about journal entries. Since I kept my books in order I was ready. How ready are you?

You might also like:

Notary Public 101 – Journals
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19511

Comparing journal entries to FedEx signatures
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19375
How many journal entries do you use for two signers on three docs?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19391

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Notary Public 101 — Scenarios: How do you notarize a document with no signature line?

If you have been instructed to notarize a document that doesn’t have a signature line, that is a cross between a quandary and a conundrum.

You cannot notarize a document without a signature. Notaries notarize signatures on documents, not documents, and especially not documents without signatures. And you cannot have a signature without a signature line. But, it could be construed as UPL for a Notary to add a signature line to a document. So, now your ability to get the job done is really on the line — which unfortunately doesn’t exist in this case, until someone writes one in.

So, what do you do to get the document notarized? If the signer draws a signature line, then they are the one engaging in UPL, not you, especially if you do not advise them to do so. The bottom line (no pun intended), which is the signature line, is that without a signature, there can be no Acknowledgment or Jurat on a particular document. An Oath or Affirmation are the only Notary Acts you can do without a signature.

So, once a signature line has been added, the affiant can sign, and then you can notarize the signature on the document.

But, what if you have a signature without a document — that is an entirely different question.

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April 3, 2018

Notary Public 101 Scenarios: Confirming the signing

Confirming a Notary Signing

As I continue to teach people and quiz Notaries on the subject of confirming the signing, I realize that the subject is more complicated than I previously realized. When confirming the signing with the borrower, there is a lot to go over. But, sometimes you don’t have the means to know what you should ask, especially when you have not received the package. Sometimes there are instruction pages with requests for checks or Quit Claim Deeds where non-borrowing in-laws need to sign. You might not know this until the last minute, but you could put it on your list of things to ask about during your initial call.

Since there are so many things to ask about during a confirmation call, it makes sense to keep a cheat sheet in your wallet with a list of things to ask about.

THE CHECK LIST

1. Identification
It is common for Notaries to confirm that the borrower(s) has/have a current government-issued identification card. That is not good enough. If the name does not match, you will have a very short or cumbersome Notarization. You can avoid a three hour trip that you don’t get paid for by making sure the ID proves that the name on the document is authentic.

2. Signers
Make sure all of the signers will be present. Not all signers are borrowers. It is common to have a non-borrowing spouse, or even in-laws who are on title. It is also common for people to sign off title if they don’t want to be part of a loan. There might be Grant Deeds or Quit Claim Deeds in such cases.

3. Paperwork going back to the Lender
There are often personal checks, cashier’s checks, tax or insurance forms or copies of ID’s going back to the Lender. Make sure that if there is anything going back, that it is in a folder on the signing table when you come so you don’t have to waste time finding it or forget.

4. Surface
To do a signing, you need a surface to do the signing on. Normally, homeowners sign on their dining room table. Many title companies are making sure that the table is clear before the Notary arrives to save time and grief. If you don’t make sure there is a surface, you might be signing on the floor or crouching to sign on a cluttered coffee table.

5. Duration
Many signers are not aware of how long a loan signing takes. It might take anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours depending on the length of the package, the degree of familiarity with the process and how much reading the borrower intends to do. The Notary should confirm how much reading the borrower wants to do, because the Notary needs to be on time for his/her next appointment. Find out in advance how much time the borrower wants, otherwise your schedule might get very off track.

6. Introduction
Many Notaries go over the fact that they are the Notary, what their name is, what their function is, and how they cannot answer legal questions, etc. Introducing yourself is great. But, if I am quizzing you with one minute to go over confirmation, and you waste the entire minute explaining the details of how you introduce yourself and forget to mention that you made sure all the signers would be there with ID’s that match the names on the document, you will fail.

7. The Numbers
If you want to go over numbers on the CD or HUD-1, you can think about that. These days, the Lenders normally do a good job of that on their own, but a last minute brush-up can reduce the chance of last minute surprises.

8. Where to Park & Directions
If you want to go over directions and where to park, that matters too. That is the last thing I want to hear if I quiz you, but in real life, where to park can be a serious consideration.

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Conclusion
The purpose in confirming a signing is to introduce yourself and go over all issues which would cause a glitch in the signing to make sure the glitch doesn’t happen before you get in your car and drive. Be prepared to confirm a second time after you have the documents printed out as you might learn more about what needs to be done after printing. Be prepared to cancel the signing if any information doesn’t check out as well. Be thorough, don’t leave any necessary information out, and you will have a more organized and stress free profession.

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Confirming the Signing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19

Real Life Notary Scenarios
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Notary Marketing 102: Phone & Communication Etiquette
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19764

Notary Etiquette from Atheist to Zombie
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=13718

Don’t Call Title or Borrower
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15066

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April 2, 2018

Scenarios: The Frank camping trip question

Filed under: Loan Signing 101 — admin @ 12:17 am

Frank does a loan signing on Monday and drops the package in the drop box at 3pm, calls in the tracking number and then wants to go camping. How many days should Frank wait before embarking on his camping trip and why?

I think that Frank should wait until he confirms with the Lender that the package has been looked over in its entirety, or until the rescission date, before going camping. If there is any issue, they might need Frank’s immediate communication and cooperation. Notaries who are not responsive after signings get regular complaints on our review system.

But, let’s review why you should wait and how long you should wait.
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1. Camping = not responding to emails = complaints
The most common source of complaints in our review system is due to Notaries who are either rude, make Notary mistakes or are unresponsive after a job has been completed. Sometimes the Notary forgets to send the documents in, and sometimes they just don’t answer their email when there is an issue or question with the documents that were sent in. If you don’t respond, you get complaints. If you are camping, you might not be in a position to answer emails quickly and might not have internet access.

A lot of wise guy Notaries say that they would take their laptop camping and that they only go to a camping spot where there is internet. I think these Notaries are personalizing the question rather than answering it based on general sense which dictates that camping spots are normally out of circulation and that the question is not about THEIR camping spot, but about camping spots in general.
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2. Types of issues
If you hand in loan documents, there might be several types of issues.

(a) A missing document. Perhaps Title never included it in the package, but you will be questioned and blamed if it does not come back to them.
(b) A missing signature or initial. This one is your fault and it will come back to you within a day of receiving the documents.
(c) Recording issues normally happen after day five and are rare. Your stamp’s impression might be too light or some arbitrary and nitpicky complaint about your seal could happen. You cannot hold yourself hostage forever, so focus on more common issues.
(d) Fedex was delayed for some reason. If so, you get called and you have to answer questions about where you dropped the package, when you dropped it, what the tracking number is, whether you gave it to a person or put it in a box, etc.
(e) A missing check or document that was to come from the borrower and be included in the package.
(f) A redraw and resign. Perhaps the borrower decides they want to change something about the loan and there needs to be a resign. This happens from time to time and you will get called if it does.
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3. Timeline
If there is a problem with a loan, it is unclear how fast you will find out about it. Here is my approximation of a timeline.

Day of the signing — the loan gets signed and dropped in a drop box hopefully at a manned Fedex station or other courier station or box. If the package gets dropped after the cut off, it doesn’t get picked up until the next day or early evening.

Day 1 — An overnighted package might be received on this day, the day after the signing which I call Day one since the day of the signing doesn’t count as a day in the rescission calendar. You might hear from someone on this day if there is a problem, but it is more likely you will hear from someone on day two.

Day 2 — A 2 day air package or delayed overnight package will probably arrive on this day. Just because the Lender received the package doesn’t mean they looked at it in its entirety yet. It might be sitting on their desk. You are likely to hear from someone on day two, but not necessarily.

Day 3 — By this day, the package will most likely be received and looked over. But, a few stragglers might still not have looked over everything and the secretary might still have the package in a pile on her desk.
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Day 4 — By now, the right to rescind is probably over or will be over by midnight if there was a Sunday or Federal Holiday within the four calendar days. It is probably safe to go camping now.
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Day 5 — If there are recording issues, those might surface after day five, but are rare, so don’t lose sleep over them.

4. When is it safe to go camping?
If you alert your client in writing before the signing happens saying that you are out of circulation and that if there is a problem, you are on your own — you still might get blamed, but at least you put the alert in writing.

I would wait until day four to go camping OR call the Lender and make sure he/she has looked over the entire package before going camping. Sending the package by fax and having them inspect it the afternoon you completed the package is yet another option if they are available to inspect it. Most issues come to surface on day two or day three, so by day four you are likely to be off the hook. Check your emails once a day anyway just to be a good service provider.

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How to lose half your clients while on vacation!
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Typical things Notaries do wrong!
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Notary Marketing 102: Phone & Communication Etiquette
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19764

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April 1, 2018

Scenarios: What is the cleanest way to rectify an error on a certificate?


Notary Certificates


In this article I will address multiple points affecting fixing errors on certificates.

WHAT IS THE CLEANEST WAY TO RECTIFY AN ERROR ON A NOTARY CERTIFICATE?

Most Notaries like to cross out and initial changes in certificates. Keep in mind that these are legal documents affecting million dollar properties. Cross-outs look like tampering and there is always a small chance that your cross-out will cause a long and drawn out delay in a court case if an Attorney suggests that perhaps there was tampering. It is CLEANER to take a fresh acknowledgment form from your Notary bag, fill it out thoroughly including the additional information section with the name of the document, number of pages, etc., And then staple it on to the document.

To be prepared for this type of situation, please do the following:

1. Keep Notary certificate pads on your person
Buy Acknowledgment, Jurat, and Copy Certification forms from the NNA. These forms come in pads and fit in your notary bag or at least in your trunk. A good Notary carries these and uses them regularly.

2. Ask for preferences, not for advice
Know when to ask the Lender or Title company for their preference. Please remember that as a Notary, it is your exclusive jurisdiction to be the expert and sole authority as to how Notarizations should get done and how Notarizations do get done. However, if there are two legal ways to handle a situation such as fixing an error on a certificate (does not apply to Maryland as I have heard that you may not add a loose certificate there — look it up in the MD Notary Manual to be sure) you can ask for a preference as to which legal way the Lender prefers. But, you must not ask a Lender if it is “okay” to do something in a Notary form, but only if they have an “issue” with it.

The way you think about asking Lenders questions matters as many Notaries think of Lenders as their authority and boss. As to completing the assignment, loan documents and shipping, they are your boss. For the actual Notary procedure, the Secretary of State Notary Division (or whatever they are called in your state) is your only authority and YOU are the authority over the Lender in this regard. You have the right to say no, and they do not have the right to boss you around about Notary issues, but only to voice preferences.

3. Recording fees & issues with adding forms
If you add a loose acknowledgment to a notarized document in a loan signing, that will change the recording fee which might be recorded on the CD, Closing Statement or HUD-1. You are opening a can of worms if you do that. However, in my opinion, the integrity of the notarization trumps any recording fee issues as you are not likely to end up in court because the recording fee went up by $10 or $50, but you might end up in court if someone thinks there is tampering due to initialing and changing information on a Notary certificate.

WHAT IF THE LENDER WANTS YOU TO USE THE ORIGINAL?

Lenders are particular to the fact that they might have trouble reselling their loan if there are too many abnormalities in the Notary section such as adding certificate forms. Additionally, recording fees can go up if you add a certificate to a recorded document, and that affects the information on the CD or HUD which opens up a can of worms. However, please consider that if there are any accusations of tampering, it is you who might spend a long time in court. Adding a fresh certificate that has its additional and optional information filled out, which identifies the document clearly, eliminates most possibility of suspicion.

YOU HAVE THE WRONG STATE IN THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Assuming the form is acceptable in all other ways other than the state, just cross out the state, write in the new state, initial, and you are done. Do NOT let the borrower initial Notary certificate forms — that is exclusively the jurisdiction of the Notary.

WRONG COUNTIES VS. WRONG DATES OR NAMES
Having a cross-out in the county of the venue would probably not affect the nature of the contact. Whereas changing a date would affect rescission which could nullify the effectiveness of a loan if challenged in court. Crossing out a name on a certificate can really change the contractual significance of a loan document. I cannot recommend how to handle situations with any authority. However, please realize that changing a county is a small issue while crossing out and initialing a date or name on an acknowledgment for a loan document could cause havoc down the line.

You might also like:

Cross out and initial or use a fresh form?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19933

Index of posts about Notary certificates
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20268

Fixing certificates is a state-specific nightmarish issue
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21083

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March 31, 2018

Scenarios: The FBI is at your door

False Identification

What piece of information will the FBI want from you if someone gave you a fake ID?
A journal thumbprint. If you don’t keep journal thumbprints, consider starting now.

But, why keep a journal thumbprint if your state doesn’t put a gun to your head and require it?

Most Notaries disdain the idea of doing anything that isn’t forced on them. Doing the absolute minimum seems to be the gospel of many Notaries these days which is a problem. Laws are often too inconclusive to include safety measures that protect the Notary and society from fraud.

A few states are against journal thumbprints
Some states recommend against taking thumbprints as that information is highly sensitive and could be used for fraud. But, the police take fingerprints don’t they? Should society tell the police to stop taking fingerprints since the information could get into the wrong hands? My opinion is that a Notary Public is a member of a profession based on trust and integrity. If a state doesn’t trust a Notary with a thumbprint, they should not commission that Notary to begin with. Would you hire a policeman you don’t trust? Bad example, in Los Angeles there are many police I wouldn’t trust with a dime (but might with a peso since we are a sanctuary city). But, the point is that the position in society of an integrous Notary is based on trust. If you don’t trust someone, don’t marry them, and don’t appoint them as a Notary. If the Notary needs special training to safeguard a thumbprint, then give the training.

You could be named as a suspect
Without a journal thumbprint you do not have a paper trail sufficient in many cases for the FBI to nail the bad guys. It is a common practice for the FBI to treat the Notary as a suspect in identity fraud cases. So, if you don’t want to be pegged as a suspect, you should consider leaving a paper trail. You are notarizing for million dollar properties, and it behooves you to leave a paper trail using any legal methods you can.

Without a thumbprint
Without journal thumbprints, someone could sell a million dollar property to another party fraudulently and there would be no paper trail other than a fake identification serial number and expiration date in a notary journal as well as a falsified signature. Where will that fake evidence point the FBI? The signature might be mildly helpful to forensics, but it is a bum steer down a one way road to a cul de sac. It goes nowhere. It is good to be helpful to investigative authorities. States like Florida and Texas don’t care about investigations, they just don’t want you taking thumbprints. They don’t care if there are consequences to the Notary either. They only think about what bothers them, and not about the bigger picture.

Without journal thumbprints, society is not safe. If society is also not safe with Notaries having thumbprints, then society needs to choose more trustworthy Notaries. California Notaries have been taking thumbprints for years and I have not heard of an issue relating to that fact in my life. Therefore, I feel that the risk to society for Notaries to keep thumbprints is minimal, yet the risk of Notaries not keeping thumbprints will cause a problem in one of every several thousand transactions. The FBI has asked many of my customers for thumbprints over the years, and the California Notaries had the thumbprints and really helped investigations lead to arrests.

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If you’re named as an identity theft conspirator, it could cost you $20,000 in legal fees.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19481

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Scenarios: What types of forms should a notary keep in his/her bag?

Notary Public forms

A Notary public needs to carry forms in their bag because you don’t know what will happen at an assignment and you need to be prepared. You also need a reliable stapler in your bag because stapling certificates to documents is a requirement.

You might need a loose Acknowledgment if there is an error on the original or if there is no Acknowledgment wording on a form. You might also have the problem that there is out of state wording that is not allowed in your state. Each state has a different rule for out of state wording, California’s being the most stringent. So, try to know what you can and cannot do. But, you can always add a loose certificate unless you live in Oregon and Maryland where it is rumored that you cannot, but the crab cakes are so good that they outweigh the loose certificate issue. Notaries in Maryland always get crabby about this issue.

There are other forms you could have including Jurats. Some people need permission for their children to travel with an accompanying adult. With respect to crying babies on future flights, here’s hoping they don’t grant permission. I created my own form with dates, thumbprints, names of all parties, etc. The Mexican authorities loved my form, and it did not take long to typeset or copy or make into a form. Whether or not you create your own form, be prepared, because you never know when your customer is not!

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Notary loses $4000 in legal fees because fraud adds name to Acknowledgment certificate.
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Notary Acknowledgment Wording
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Can you send a loose Acknowledgment? You should hear the answers.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16168

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Scenarios. The Chad question revisited

Filed under: Loan Signing 101 — admin @ 12:18 am

When I ask the Chad question to Notaries, I reword it sometimes to give some diversity the question (If wanted diversity why am I using a name like “Chad?”) The main point of the question is that I give instructions, divert the conversation with some other commentary about the situation, and then put the Notary in a situation where they will have to regurgitate the instructions.

Instructions:
Chad says, “If there is a problem, call me and only me. If I don’t answer, send me an email.” (Sometimes I say text or leave a message.)

You get to the signing. Jesse is the signer. You arrive at 11am. Jesse signs half the documents, but refuses to sign the flood disclosure until he can talk to someone. You call Chad. Chad does not answer. What do you do now?

Wrong Answers

1. You complete the signing and inform the borrower about their three day right to rescind. Of course, not all signings are refinances on personal properties, so there might not be a right to rescind. Commentary: This is not a bad way to proceed, but it is not following directions. Chad will fire you.

2. You call Title because that is what you normally do and it makes sense. Commentary: Yes, that makes sense and ordinarily you should call all contacts that you can call. However, your instructions were to call Chad and only Chad. Chad will fire you if you divert from exact instructions.

3. You leave the signing. Commentary: Bad idea. You need to give Chad a little time to get back to you. How much time is reasonable can vary. I would allow sixty minutes total for an appointment as a general rule. I would allow twenty minutes for a call back as a general rule. Give Chad a chance to call you back, and send him that email and leave a text too.

Correct Answer
Chad asked you to send him an email, so send him an email and do not call anyone else because he is the one paying you and told you not to. Doing what you are told will gain you many repeat clients. Disobeying them the minute they ask you to do something that you do not normally do, or something that doesn’t make sense to you, can get you fired. Just because an instruction doesn’t make sense to you doesn’t mean it does not make sense to the person giving it to you. If you don’t like an instruction, take that up with your boss at the moment the instruction is given, and not at the moment you wish to disobey the instruction. However, if Chad tells you to do something illegal as a Notary, you cannot and should not obey him. A Notary obeys the law first and then their client. If there is a conflict of interest between client and law, side with the law. If there is a conflict between client and best practices, side with best practices as a safety precaution for the Notary.

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Following directions is more important than you think.
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Marcy overlooks the instructions in the 30 point course.
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The green pen question revisited.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20146

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March 11, 2018

Scenarios: The Green Pen Question Revisited

Filed under: Loan Signing 101 — Tags: — admin @ 11:06 am

You go to a signing, open the package and the instructions read:
Sign in GREEN, don’t call unless it is an emergency, get it to Fedex on time or you are fired.
It is 5:30, last pick up is at 6:00pm. Nobody has a green pen. There is a stationery store in the same complex as the Fedex station ten minutes from where you are. What do you do?

(a) Sign in black or blue, whatever is legal in your state.
(b) Call your contact person and let them know you are having a situation.
(c) Go to the store.

Most Notaries carry a portable time machine with them and decide to go back in time, read the directions BEFORE going to the signing. Unfortunately, the time machine is not one of the multiple choice options and we do require picking options that are available rather than creating your own convoluted answer. If you want to sign in a legal color, then sign in black or blue, but you will get fired, because that is not what the directions say. If you call, they are going to say, “what did the directions say?” You will say, “Sign in green.” And then they will say, “So what are you asking us for, go and get a green pen dummy.”

The correct answer is to have the borrower follow you to the store, get a pen, sign the document and then drop it next door at Fedex, and then go to Starbucks for an iced Jurataccino (optional). Otherwise you won’t have time to drive back and forth and drop the package. This is called following directions. If the pen could talk, and was a Muffets fan, he would probably say, “It’s not easy being green.”

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Can Frank safely go camping after his signing? Or will he get in trouble?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20007

Chad said to text him. If you don’t in this scenario, trouble follows!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20009

Notary Public 101 Real Life Notary Scenarios
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19681

Does your state allow credible witnesses?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18911

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