Ackknowledgment

An acknowledgment is a formal admission made in person before a proper official by someone who has executed an instrument. The signer must personally appear before the Notary Public, the signer must be positively identified by the Notary Public and the signer must acknowledge having willingly signed the document. The signer is not required to sign in the presence of the Notary Public.

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Various Type Deeds

A Deed of Trust, also called a trust deed or a Potomac Mortgage, is used in some states in place of a mortgage, a transfer of interest in land by a mortgagor-borrower to a mortgagee-lender to secure the payment of the borrower's debt. Although a deed of trust serves the same purpose as a type of security, it differs from a mortgage. A deed of trust is an arrangement among three parties: the borrower, the lender, and an impartial trustee. In exchange for a loan of money from the lender, the borrower places legal title to real property in the hands of the trustee who holds it for the benefit of the lender, named in the deed as the beneficiary. The borrower retains equitable title to, and possession of, the property.

A Grant Deed is used in some states and jurisdictions for the sale or other transfer of real property from one person or entity to another person or entity. Each party transferring an interest in the property, or "grantor", is required to sign it. Then the document must be acknowledged before a notary public (notarized) or other official authorized by law to administer oaths. The notary public or other official then places a seal and marks the document accordingly to show that it was properly signed and acknowledged. The reason the document must be notarized is to provide evidence that the signature of the grantor is genuine as transaction documents are sometimes forged.

A Quitclaim Deed is a release by the grantor, or conveyor of the deed, of any interest the grantor may have in the property described in the deed. Generally a quitclaim deed relieves the grantor of liability regarding the ownership of the property. Thus, the grantor of a quitclaim deed will not be liable to the grantee, or recipient of the deed, if a competing claim to the property is later discovered. A quitclaim deed is not a guarantee that the grantor has clear title to the property; rather it is a relinquishment of the grantor's rights, if any, in the property. By contrast, in a warranty deed the grantor promises that she owns the property with no cloud on the title (that is, no competing claims).

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Jurats

In English and American law, the word jurat is applied to that part of an affidavit which contains the names of the parties swearing the affidavit, the actual statement that an oath or affirmation has been made, the person before whom it was sworn, the date, place and other necessary particulars. The jurat is usually located on the bottom of a document. A typical form would be Sworn to before me this DD day of Month, 20__, with the signature of the witness, often a notary public, the venue, and sometimes other particulars.[2] Old forms of jurats ran as Juratum...die...coram..., which then gave in English Sworn this...day of...before me.[

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Affidavits

An affidavit (/ˌæfɨˈdeɪvɨt/ A-fə-DAY-vət) is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner of oaths. The name is Medieval Latin for he/she has declared upon oath. An affidavit is a type of verified statement or showing, or in other words, it contains a verification, meaning it is under oath or penalty of perjury, and this serves as evidence to its veracity and is required for court proceedings.

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Proof of Execution

This notary act takes place when a subscribing witness or executing witness appears before a notary and swears that another particular person signed a document. This is the only notary act where someone can be notarized without appearing before a notary public.

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Copy Certification

A certified copy is a notarial act in which a Notary certifies that a photocopy of an original document is a complete and true reproduction of the original document.

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