Although I am presented daily with questions dealing with certain aspects of the signing process, I find that certain questions seem to repeat themselves.
Being a notary, often called a signing agent, takes considerable time learning state law, specific documents, etc. Just Point and Sign, the program, addresses the learning curve by providing more than 70 documents in which a notary might find themselves in contact with at one time or another.
Seeing these documents helps familiarize the notary signing agent with those that they see in the field. Even so, there are still questions that arise.
One question that seems constant is when a Power of Attorney is being used. They often ask me “How does the signer sign using the power of attorney?"
Because this is a common question, I provide the answer to this and many others on my website FAQs page.
I’m sure that there are some in the industry that would disagree with me or have another explanation however, after much research, this is what I’ve found to be true:
First and foremost,
NEVER let a signer use the term POA. This is not an established abbreviation for power of attorney, POA could be used to indicate Paid On Account.
Refer to your state statutes or notary division.
Some states will require the notary to view the original Power of Attorney, others states say the notary is not allowed to refuse notarization if the signer does not produce the power of attorney. So this is a case of
KNOW YOUR NOTARY LAW.
In situations where this is in conjunction with a loan package, you do need to call the client (lender, title company etc. to ensure that they are willing to accept the Power of Attorney (some do not).
The most commonly accepted way for the individual to sign using power of attorney is one of two ways: Susan B. Smith by Joe D. Smith as her attorney in fact- or -Joe D. Smith for Susan B. Smith as her attorney in fact Documents would be initialed as SBS by JDS - or -JDS for SBS..
If in doubt and the document is not drawn with the signature line showing how the document preparer requires the document to be signed, call the client and ask. It is better to ask than guess at it.
So, is this the most common question? I'd like to know your opinion.
Victoria Rivera has been recognized by her peers in receiving NASA's Signing Agent of the Month for September 2000 Award and as NASA's Signing Agent of the Year 2000 Award. She is also active in the state of Florida with the Florida Mobile Notary Association and received recognition by the National Notary Association as their 2004 Special Honoree. She is also currently on the Board of Advisors for GoGetExperts.com. She is an established author, a much sought after speaker and utilizes her higher education to work as a Florida notary and a virtual bankruptcy assistant. You may visit her websites at
www.justpointandsign.net,
www.nwflnotary.com and
www.mybankruptcyassistant.com.
