Witnesses on Real Estate Documents

Role of the Expert Witness: Policing Your Industry

Ontario

Question:

Is the witness signature mandatory in the Form 100, being the Standard Form Agreement of Purchase and Sale? 

Can anyone sign as witness? Are there any restrictions?

Answer:

Generally, it is no longer required. This has arisen somewhat with eSignatures and the use of PDF documents.

In some cases, a Mortgagee will require certain documents to be witnessed.

A witness will have to be over the age of 18, mentally competent and unrelated to the person signing.

The purpose is to have someone to call as a witness in Court to testify that the person signing:

1) appeared to know what they were doing,

2) acted voluntarily, without compulsion or undue influence, and

3) appeared to be competent, free of drugs and medication.

Naturally, those issues cannot be identified in an eSignatures’ environment, which only indicates “where” the document was executed.

Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker

www.OntarioRealEstateSource.com

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