Terms Used In Michigan Laws 55.291

  • Acknowledgment: means a declaration by an individual in the presence of a notary public that he or she has signed a record for the purposes stated in the record and, if the record is signed in a representative capacity, that he or she signed the record with the proper authority and signed it as the act of the person identified in the record. See Michigan Laws 55.263
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • grantee: may be construed as including every person to whom any such interest or estate passes in like manner. See Michigan Laws 8.3e
  • Lineal ancestor: means an individual who is in the direct line of ascent including, but not limited to, a parent or grandparent. See Michigan Laws 55.265
  • Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
  • Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
  • Notarial act: means any of the following:
  (i) An act, whether performed with respect to a tangible or electronic record, that a notary public commissioned in this state is authorized to perform including, but not limited to, taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, or witnessing or attesting a signature performed in compliance with this act. See Michigan Laws 55.265
  • Person: means an individual or a corporation, business trust, statutory trust, estate, partnership, trust, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Michigan Laws 55.265
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Michigan Laws 55.265
  • Signature: means an individual's written or printed name, electronic signature, or mark, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed, adopted, or made by the individual with the intent to sign the record. See Michigan Laws 55.267
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Trustor: The person who makes or creates a trust. Also known as the grantor or settlor.
  •   (1) A notary public shall not certify or notarize that a record is either of the following:
      (a) An original.
      (b) A true copy of another record.
      (2) A notary public shall not do any of the following:
      (a) Perform a notarial act upon any record executed by himself or herself.
      (b) Notarize his or her own signature.
      (c) Take his or her own deposition or affidavit.
      (3) A notary public shall not claim to have powers, qualifications, rights, or privileges that the office of notary does not provide, including the power to counsel on immigration matters.
      (4) A notary public shall not, in any document, advertisement, stationery, letterhead, business card, or other comparable written material describing the role of the notary public, literally translate from English into another language terms or titles including, but not limited to, notary public, notary, licensed, attorney, lawyer, or any other term that implies the person is an attorney.
      (5) A notary public who is not a licensed attorney and who advertises notarial services in a language other than English shall include in the document, advertisement, stationery, letterhead, business card, or other comparable written material the following, prominently displayed in the same language:
      (a) The statement: “I am not an attorney and have no authority to give advice on immigration or other legal matters”.
      (b) The fees for notarial acts as specified by statute.
      (6) A notary public may not use the term “notario publico” or any equivalent non-English term in any business card, advertisement, notice, or sign.
      (7) A notary public shall not perform any notarial act in connection with a transaction if the notary public has a conflict of interest. As used in this subsection, “conflict of interest” means either or both of the following:
      (a) The notary public has a direct financial or beneficial interest, other than the notary public fee, in the transaction.
      (b) The notary public is named, individually, as a grantor, grantee, mortgagor, mortgagee, trustor, trustee, beneficiary, vendor, vendee, lessor, or lessee or as a party in some other capacity to the transaction.
      (8) A notary public shall not perform a notarial act for a spouse, lineal ancestor, lineal descendant, or sibling including in-laws, steps, or half-relatives.
      (9) A notary public who is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee of a bank or other corporation may take the acknowledgment of a party to a record executed to or by the corporation, or to administer an oath to any other stockholder, director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation. A notary public shall not take the acknowledgment of a record by or to a bank or other corporation of which he or she is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee, under circumstances where the notary public is named as a party to the record, either individually or as a representative of the bank or other corporation and the notary public is individually a party to the record.
      (10) For purposes of subsection (7), a notary public has no direct financial or beneficial interest in a transaction where the notary public acts in the capacity of an agent, employee, insurer, attorney, escrow, or lender for a person having a direct financial or beneficial interest in the transaction.