Hmmmm, we didn't go over this scenario in class.
So as an AIF, do they have to prove that they are indeed the AIF? Otherwise, how do we know they have the right to sign for the husband? If she doesn't have the right, wouldn't the document be incomplete or false?
Or, as the Notary, are we just notarizing the AIF's affirmation that she is indeed the AIF?
July1962. It is not our job or responsibility to determine if the individual has the Power to sign for someone else. With loan signings, the lender usually ask for original POA, but we don't need to see it.
If they say they are signing as an AIF, fine! We I.D. and notarize their signature. We cannot determine capacity.
@july1962 wrote:
So as an AIF, do they have to prove that they are indeed the AIF? Otherwise, how do we know they have the right to sign for the husband? If she doesn't have the right, wouldn't the document be incomplete or false?
Or, as the Notary, are we just notarizing the AIF's affirmation that she is indeed the AIF?
It's not our job to determine if somebody has the 'right' to sign something. We're there to witness the signing itself. In California, as a notary, you SHOULD NOT even ask them to prove that they are the AIF. Don't ask to see the POA document. This has to do with "determining" capacity. The wording of our acknowledgments is such that they claim whatever capacity they may have. You only ID the person in front you. If they claim to be the AIF... then that's what they claim. Note that in our acknowledgment wording it says, "they acknowledged to me that they executed the same in their authorized capacities.."
CA Civil Code 1189 says that we are not allowed to "determine or certify that the signer holds a particular representative capacity."
IMO, the reason for this is because the determination of the legality of a document (including the AIF) is up to the courts. Notarizations do not have any impact on the legality of a document... they only serve to prove the identity of the signer and establish certain facts. If the person signing a document doesn't have the legal right to sign a document, that's a court's decision, not ours.
