Quite often I come across sellers, testators and mortgagors wherein their names are incomplete or otherwise different from their identification documents (ID) i.e. driver’s licence, passport, birth certificate and marriage certificate (if applicable).
The spelling of your name is critical when preparing any legal documents for example your Will, Power of Attorney, Appointment of Enduring Guardian, sale and purchase of land contracts, mortgages and transferring shares.
These discrepancies can result in delays finalising your property transaction, in some cases breach of contract, issues with selling your shares and can result in increased transaction costs, delay and frustration.
There are many reasons for the inconsistencies, however the most common are:-
- Anglicised names (which buyers/sellers/shareholders may commonly go by in day to day life) are not always the same names as reflected on their legal ID documents
- Marriage (or breakdown of marriage) where the seller has changed their name since purchasing the property or shares
- Missing middle names, which buyer/seller/shareholder may not use all the time, accidently being omitted from the legal documents i.e. Contract for Sale or Purchase of Land/share transfer forms/will/power of attorney etc
- Old errors, perhaps from missing or incorrectly spelt names when a seller originally purchased the property or data entry errors made by land registry at the time
- Foreign names where there is unfamiliarity. In some cultures, the christian name is written last and the surname is written first for example, Liu Jianguo, in Chinese would be Mr. Jianguo Liu using the Western style.
As we are moving towards a more digital world, it is becoming more important for us to use our full legal name set out in our identity documents, and to ensure our full legal name is used on all documentation in any legal process.
At Everingham Solomons, we have the expertise to assist you because, Helping You is Our Business.
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