Relief in Sight: RON Option and Data Call Update

Dear Members,

Lots to share with you this week.  Things are re-opening around the state and we are all processing how we personally are going to respond to these changes.  I am not ready to go back to the hair salon but I have scheduled a few doctor appointments.  I hope all of you are doing well.  Let's get into what's going on…….

This week's TitleNow PopUp Webinar is a good one.  My guests will be Laird Lile and Sandy Diamond, both of whom are estate planning, probate and trust attorneys.  Laird practices in Naples and Sandy is in St. Petersburg.  We will be talking about how their practices have changed:  how do they interact with clients?  How do they manage communication?  Signing of documents?  Determining capacity?  Determining undue influence?  We will likely touch on the option of utilizing RON for document signing, too.  Tune in.  It's FREE.  Thursday at noon.  30 minutes.  Here is a link to register:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4845124838563105806 

Next week (May 28), I will be off but Michael Rothman and Melissa Scaletta will be hosting the webinar and they will be discussing new RON FAQs we have developed.

Data call update.  I HAVE ONE!  Technically, the Data Call Worksheet/information is still due on or before May 31, 2020.  But relief has arrived in the form of a directive from the Department of Financial Services that no enforcement action will be taken until September 1, 2020.  We expect some sort of communication from the Office of Insurance Regulation soon and will communicate that to you when we have it.  Here is a link to the DFS directive.  https://www.thefund.com/TheFund/media/PDFs/Data-Call-CFO-Directive-2020-10-FINAL(Signed).pdf

Consider enrolling in New Member Training. New Member Training is usually offered as a 3.5 day in-person class presented by the Legal Education Department at Fund Headquarters. Due to the pandemic, the course has moved online. The next class will be offered July 15-17 and limited space is now available. This offers a great opportunity for existing Fund Member firms to send new associates, add an additional signatory, or for any lawyer in your office who just wants to learn more about handling closings. For registration information email educationregistrar@thefund.com or contact your Member Account Advisor.

"New" option for the remote notarization of wet-signed documents.  Are you encountering difficulty with getting loan packages signed because of one or more of these reasons:

• Lenders require or insist that loan documents be signed on paper, I.e., they will not authorize the electronic signing of loan documents.
• Your borrower is reluctant to meet with a notary face to face at their home (mobile notary).
• Your borrower is reluctant or not able to travel to your office to meet with a notary and you don’t want to expose your staff to the public.

We recently authorized the utilization of a RON Service Provider platform to allow an online notary to view the wet-signing of paper documents and take the acknowledgement of the signer over the RON platform.  Here is a link to that bulletin.  https://www.thefund.com/TheFund/media/PDFs/Alert-Underwriting-Modifying-Online-Notary-Requirements.pdf   If this is something that interests you, you might want to look into Essential Notary through Pavaso.  Pavaso is affiliated with Old Republic and has recently developed a unique process allowing for the wet-signing of documents over Pavaso’s platform - this process is called Essential Notary.  Pavaso/Essential Notary is prioritizing the registration of Old Republic and Fund member agents to utilize this new process.  If you are interested in finding out more or registering with Essential Notary, click this link to get started. Pavaso’s Essential Notary.  If you have questions, please reach out to your sales advisor.  They will help find the answers for you!

That's all for this week.  Stay safe.

Let us know how we can help you. 

Melissa Jay Murphy
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer,
General Counsel and Secretary