I had a similar situation like this happen, only that the name on the documents reflected the wife’s married name and not their maiden name. They had just became married recently and their new ID’s hadn’t come in yet. All of their current documentation stated the maiden name. I didn’t feel comfortable doing the closing, so I called the team and let them know what happened then left. I think you did the right thing.
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You said her middle name. You meant maiden name.
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I was almost in the same situation and would have done what you did. Except for one small thing. My signer luckily had 2 IDs. She had her previous ID which had her maiden name which the documents were drawn under and also her new married ID and also BOTH were on the AKA statement. Keep your integrity. I know it will cause pause when you work with that company again but you do what you believe in.
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You went into great detail about “less than” and “more than,” but it seems you would proceed to notarize a different name than that on the ID as long as there is an AKA statement. That doesn’t compute.
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No, I meant middle name. I would not accept an ID with a different last name than the last name stated on the document. Some IDs have the maiden name as a new middle name, and that is acceptable as long as the last names match on the ID and document.
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Sorry if I didn’t make it clear enough. The last name on the ID would have to match the documents, the rest can be a variation of name on ID (i.e.Thomas instead of Tom, middle name or no middle name, etc.). I would accept a reasonable variation without an AKA affidavit, but you should do what you feel is comfortable in your jurisdiction.
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It’s my understanding that the AKA statement (affidavit) is meant to include all versions of the name as the title company found on various credit reports and financial documents. The affiant is acknowledging they are all one and the same person.
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The most common thing that I see is that the lender documents have the name different on the signature line than the title documents. This often happens when middle names are involved. For the life of me, I can never understand why Lender and Title can’t coordinate these things.
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It’s most likely the borrower that has not been consistent in name useage over time. The loan application might be in the most recent version they’ve been using and other docs may differ. The lender needs name on mortgage lien to exactly match the deed. The borrower may not remember exact name used on the deed. The title company has various documents for various purposes that may require other versions depending source used for each document, i.e. name used on tax return and name on deed may differ. I don’t question any of it unless it’s an obvious error, like a mispelling.
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I’m sure you’re correct about that, but sometimes the signers are confused about how they should sign. I’ll just tell them to sign it as it shows on the signature line. That is, except in cases where their signature is a scrawl, and you can’t read it anyway. Then, I’ll tell them to just sign the way that they have been throughout the documents. I’ve never gotten any pushback on that approach.
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I also tell them to sign same as signature line, even when their signature is a scrawl. I have gotten pushback, but then tell them to do their best so lender doesn’t delay the funding, that usually works.
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I have run into this more times than I can remember. The problem is that the original Deed is recorded with the name used before the name change. The lender then puts the original name on the signature line of the AKA and because the signer has changed their name and gotten a new ID you are unable to verify using that AKA. When I have run into this, I ask the title company to send a new AKA with the signer’s current name listed first and the original name listed after the AKA. Then, show the current name in the notarial statement as the one appearing before me. I have never had a problem with title refusing to do that and never had any occasion where the document was kicked back as unacceptable.
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Actually, you did the correct thing! An aka affidavit if for title use. It does nothing to help the notary identify the signer!!
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Team Torie on this one.
Legal ID matches the name on the docs. She has to sign the way it is printed, so her id has to match that. AKA is fine, FNA is fine, but bottom line, her name on docs and signature line and ID have to match, she can attest to being anything she wants, nothing to do with me identifying who she is today, not the past.
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The nearest situation I had was a dual citizen, US and Japan. Most of the documents in a package used her married name, and she used a state driver license for those. One of the documents had to do with business in Japan, and used her maiden name, which was Japanese-style. She used her valid Japanese passport for that document.
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I’ve been a real estate broker for 42 years and a notary for 25. Here is a story out titie rep told that was true and happened in Denver i. The 70s. Mr and mrs not getting along. Wife goes to stay with her sister for a couple of months to think things over. She comes home without notice. Odd car in the driveway. She looks in the front window. All different furnishings inside. Her key does not work. Occupant says they just bought the house a couple weeks ago. Turns out, hubby got a fake ID for girlfriend who posed as the wife. The house was listed and sold. Title company gets sued and pays. Mr. and girlfriend go to prison. Title rep, who notarized papers takes flack for not verifying the ID. Not sure how she coukd have.
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Let’s see the marriage certificate. You need to show it to change your license and social security card.
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Those situations can be tricky if there is no AKA affidavit. If those variations appear on the AKA affidavit I would notarize the documents. The person is swearing that she is one and the same and you are witnessing her sign the documents so it is ok to notarize. In some instances they have other supporting documents with the different name but not always. The signer should have her old license and her new one. You can compare to see if it is the same number, the signature matches and the description does too. I have added aliases to an AKA when I thought it would make sense. The person is swearing that he/she has been known by those names as well. Some Lenders only put the first and last name, others put the full name including the full middle name, and also the First and last name with the middle initial as a variant.
Your journal will have a signature and thumbprint and that should be more than enough to keep people honest. A signature can be faked but the thumbprint cannot.
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Now I know why I often have signers tell me, “Well the last notary had no problem with my ID.” You can NOT use an informal document (a piece of paper from Staples) to identify someone. You need a government issued ID. I often wondered did the previous notary even check the ID…now I know. Quite shocking, some of the responses here.
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No it is not okay. That piece of paper has no legal standing from a notary standpoint. Check your state laws and your notary handbook for a list of acceptable ID documents. Nowhere will you find that an AKA Statement is acceptable - the AKA Statement is signed by…who? The person who has given you ID with a different name….so how can you notarize.
Please, people, do not rely on the AKA statement for acceptable, viable ID
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