Bank of Woodland v. Oberhaus

Citations

• 125 Cal. 320
• 57 P. 1070
• 1899 Cal. LEXIS 856

Syllabus

<p>Acknowledgment—Ministerial Act.—The act of a notary In taking an acknowledgment of an instrument is ministerial, and not judicial, in its nature.</p> <p>Id.—Agency of Notary—Interest in Transaction.—Notaries public are not disqualified by reason merely of being agents of the parties to the instruments to be acknowledged, if they are not pecuniarily interested in the transaction.</p> <p>Id—Mortgage to Bank—Acknowledgment by Cashier.—The acknowledgment of a mortgage to a bank before a notary who was cashier of the bank, is not for that reason alone invalid, if it appears that the cashier had no interest in the bank or in its property, but was a mere salaried officer, and that his position as notary was distinct from his position as cashier, and that the fees received by him as notary belonged to him individually, and not to the bank.</p> <p>Homestead—Selection Required—Residence Prior to Codes— Validity of Mortgage.—There can be no legal homestead since the enactment of the codes, merely from residence, without selection, and the record of a declaration thereof, notwithstanding the husband and wife may have resided upon the premises since a date prior to the codes; and a mortgage executed and recorded before a declaration of homestead is filed is a valid charge upon the premises.</p>