Promised Land --The insureds chose this site for their dream home, under construction at left. This last part, the part about the deed, was news to Lezlie.
Handwriting analysis of the deed proved that Lezlie's signature was forged. They didn't even spell her name right--making it "Leslie." The sale proceeds were sent to Richard in Florida, and Lezlie didn't collect a penny. The notary on the deed was a fellow employee of Richard's, who notarized the document as a "favor."
When last we heard, Lezlie and Richard were legally separated.
First American paid $75,000 to Lezlie, representing her half interest in the sale proceeds. Construction of our insureds' new home was not delayed.
MORAL: A grantee's only protection against forgery is the notary, but your best protection against loss from forgery is title insurance. While notaries may be required to be bonded, the bond amount is usually low. In this case, we recovered $5,000 as the full amount of the notary's bond.
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