I believe many if not most of us who have been in the work force for any length of time have held or expressed a different opinion from their boss/superior, business partner/colleague, or B2B associate regarding a subject matter whereby one is correct and the other is wrong. To make matters worse, the situation may escalate and become even more difficult to resolve especially if/when one party remains steadfast in their conviction when wrong expecting the other party to give in and honor a request without merit to resolve their differences. For example, it's a fact that only two States, namely Wyoming and Mississippi, require notarization of a mechanics lien waiver and only 12 States out of 50 presently have lien law statutes. It's also a fact that electronic digital signatures are and have been acceptable in a court of law for well over the past 10 years in all 50 States. However, despite this information, it has recently come to my attention that bank loan officers, title company personnel, architects, and building contractors alike continue to use unconditional vintage lien waivers in addition to requiring handwritten signatures witnessed by a notary public. In reality, I find this alarming and hard to believe given the facts regarding mechanic lien waivers not to mention the inherent liability associated with using an unconditional vintage lien waiver especially by one who has yet to get paid. Not a very smart move to say the least. I should also add that a party cannot be forced to sign and submit an unconditional lien waiver by law when they have yet to be paid.

Likewise, a party cannot be forced by law to have a lien waiver notarized—with exception of Wyoming and Mississippi—nor be required to apply a handwritten signature as opposed to an electronic signature for a lien waiver to be accepted. This noted, how should one aware of lien laws respond when asked to sign and submit an unconditional vintage lien waiver, apply a handwritten signature, and have it witnessed by a notary public or unrelated individual in a State with the exception of Wyoming or MS that require a Notary? As for the first request, unless the party has yet been paid in full with funds in-hand, my unequivocal answer would be not to sign/submit an unconditional vintage lien waiver. As for applying a handwritten signature and having the waiver notarized, why bother wasting time and energy trying to convince and possibly offend a bank loan officer, title company personnel, or other party otherwise in an attempt to change their mind when there's virtually no harm, no foul in applying a handwritten signature, getting a lien waiver notarized, and calling it a day.