| Noting the Notary Provisions |
| Posted: February 3, 2010 |
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As this financial crisis continues and more cases wind themselves through to the bankruptcy courts, a rather disturbing trend is becoming apparent. The bankruptcy courts are finding that what would appear to be valid and secured debts are really unsecured. To the erstwhile secured party, such a change comes as a most unpleasant shock. This is particularly true when the reason for this transformation is revealed: the lack of a proper notary clause!
Notary clauses may be determined to be invalid for any number of reasons. Some of the common ones include failure to include a notary clause when required, failure to complete the blanks in the notary clause, failure to complete the blanks in the notary clause correctly, failure to execute the document before the notary or to acknowledge its execution to the notary in person, or the notary is outside of the notary’s jurisdiction—just to name a few.
And where the notary clause is defective, the document (typically a mortgage) that requires it also fails to be enforceable!
So the next time that you need to get a document notarized, take a couple of extra moments and make sure that the notary block is properly completed and all of the formalities met. It really does make a difference.
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