There are statutory and common law requirements that when signing a deed, typed wills and many affidavits, that the signature of the person signing the document must be ‘notarized’ by a Notary Public.
A Notary Public is a public official authorized by the state to witness signatures and take oaths. The requirements to become a notary vary from state to state. In Texas, there are over 400,000 notaries. Most banks, insurance agents, and law firms have employees who are notaries.
The notary statement typically appears at the end of a document, below the signature of the person who signs the document. The most common notary statements are an ‘authentication’ and a ‘jurat’.
An ‘authentication’ is a statement by a notary that the person signing the document is the person who he or she says it is. For example, Jane Doe signs a deed giving a piece of property to John Smith. Upon signing, Jane will show the notary some identification that she is indeed Jane Doe. Typically, this is a drivers’ license or passport. In some situations, where the notary personally knows the signer, for example, a secretary notarizing her boss’s signature, such official identification may not be requested.
A ‘jurat’ is a statement that the person signing the document, swears to the truth of the statements made in the document. This is most commonly seen in an affidavit. For example, in an heirship affidavit, the person making the document (‘the affiant’) will recite a family history as to births, deaths, marriages, and children, based on memory, knowing the family. For this type of affidavit, the signer is declaring that the statements are true and correct. In these cases, the notary statement called a “jurat” is used, typically including the words “Subscribed and sworn to before me by ….”. Failure to contain the words “sworn to” or “affirmed” in the notary statement may make an affidavit invalid. There have been situation where an affidavit of heirship contains an ‘authentication’ notary statement but not the required ‘jurat’. In such instance the document has been held insufficient evidence to prove up who the heirs are, or who has an interest in real property.
The general rule is if you are signing an affidavit where you are asserting ‘facts’ that are based upon your own knowledge, memory, or expertise, to be valid, it should contain both the “authentication” and ‘jurat’ notary statements to your signature.
Affidavits are commonly used in probate and real estate matters. If you require a will, estate planning, need to probate a will, transfer real estate interest, or correcting defects in title, consider contacting the Law Office of Elliott Klein, PLLC to ensure that the applicable legal requirements are complied with.