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Admissibility of Instrument in Evidence

If an instrument comes under the purview of acknowledgment laws, then such instrument will be generally admissible without any further proof of its execution.  An acknowledgement is generally regarded as an essential prerequisite for recording a deed.[i]

A certificate of acknowledgment permits the offering of a deed into evidence without further showing as to its genuineness.[ii] The presumption of acceptance of a duly acknowledged and recorded deed is not conclusive and is rebuttable.[iii]

In Midwest Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n v. Kouba, 335 N.W.2d 780, 785 (N.D. 1983), the court observed that the acknowledged documents and commercial paper did not require extrinsic evidence of authenticity before admission.

A court will not approve the admission of the promissory note in evidence without the admission or proof of its genuineness.[iv] A document which contains a certificate of acknowledgment taken before a notary public is considered to be self proving.[v]

If claims asserted in a case are adverse and inconsistent with an unacknowledged instrument, then the instrument cannot be admitted in evidence.  The exception which permits an unacknowledged instrument to be proved in evidence will not exist in such a case.[vi]

[i] Abraham v. Mihalich, 330 Pa. Super. 378 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1984)

[ii] In re Estate of Shedrick, 122 Ill. App. 3d 861 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 1984),

[iii] Smith v. State, 53 Ill. Ct. Cl. 205 (Ill. Ct. Cl. 2000)

[iv] Robertson v. Burstein, 105 N.J.L. 375 (E. & A. 1929)

[v] Jouson v. Presidio Corp., 590 S.W.2d 524 (Tex. Civ. App. Houston 1st Dist. 1979)

[vi] Frede v. Lauderdale, 322 S.W.2d 379 (Tex. Civ. App. San Antonio 1959)


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