Name Missing in Notary Acknowledgment Means Bad Mortgage In Massachusetts

Money moves electronically, but papers move at human speed.  People make mistakes when rushed.  A name might not appear in a notary public’s acknowledgement, the place where the notary public identifies whose signature is being verified.  In Massachusetts, such a document may not be enforced against parties not signing the document.

The recent case of Agin v MERS (In re Giroux)  2009 WL 1458173 (Bkrtcy.D.Mass. May 21, 2009) made this point quite clear, when it ruled that a mortgage was not enforceable against a Chapter 7 trustee if the borrower’s name was left blank in the acknowledgment.  The trustee took over the mortgage under operation of bankruptcy law, and the mortgagee was left with an unsecured claim no different from that of a credit card issuer.

This decision was based on Massachusetts statutes, and it noted that other states’ laws might lead to a different ruling.  However, there may well be other statutes in your own state which give rise to rights not available in Massachusetts.  Look hard, and then look again.

Related posts:

1. Massachusetts Mortgage Foreclosures Severely Backlogged
2. Retroactive Mortgage Assignments Not Effective In Massachusetts
3. Let’s Treat Massachusetts As A Judicial Foreclosure State