Is there a special rule for acknowledgements given by military personnel and their spouses?
* See Texas Civil Practice & Remedies code 121.001 (d)
Anywhere in the World: Acknowledgement given by a member of the United States Armed Forces or member's spouse can be taken by any commissioned
officer of the United States Armed Forces.
Applies to both active duty members and reserve members
Acknowledgement can be accepted at face value
No seal is required
* See Texas Government code 602.005: Same rule applies for obtaining Jurats from
military personnel and spouses.
*See Texas Civil Practice & Remedies code 121.006 - 121.009
121.006: Statutory forms may be altered as circumstances require, and statutory authorization of particular forms does not prevent the use of other Acknowledgement forms (i.e., out of state and foreign certificates, so long as the other forms contain the essential elements of a proper acknowledgement).
What documents are recordable "without" either an Acknowledgement or a Jurat?
* See Texas Property code 12.006: Official grants made by the State of Texas or the United States are accordable without necessity of acknowledgement or further proof, and grants include:
Patents executed by the Governor of Texas
Deeds from agencies of the State of Texas, including the Veterans Land Board.
* Copies of documents from official records, properly certified and, when required, authenticated (and unadultered) (e.g., see Texas Probate code 96 - 97, concerning foreign wills.
What are the ramifications of a fatally defective certificate of Acknowledgement?
* See Texas Property code T.2, Title Examination Standard 4.20: Sufficiency of acknowledgement affects the legal effectiveness of the instrument's recording. Presence of a so-called "fatal" defect in it's acknowledgement will cause an instrument to be denied the benefits of recordation, i.e., even though the instrument physically appears in the real estate records, it will, as a matter of law, be treated as unrecorded.
What defects are fatal to an Acknowledgement's legal effectiveness?
Failure to include acknowledging party's name in Certificate of
Acknowledgement.
Significant variance in acknowledging party's name in the Certificate verses the
instrument being acknowledged
Omission of the word "Acknowledged" in the Certificate
Failure of officer taking acknowledgement to sign the Certificate
