Hi Atty, need your advice. I was involved in a car accident - May of last year. The 3rd party signed an affidavit of desistance in front of the traffic officer after we agreed that we will both claim from our insurance. Everything was okey at first and there were no argument. I even didn't dispute that they are the one who triggered the accident because the driver already saw a fast moving vehicle but still decided to speed up so I unintentionally hit the upper part of their car. If he maintain his speed, it could have been my vehicle that was hit. Anyway, they were paid by their insurance but not the total amount that they already paid for their car because of the depreciation plus the interest from the bank (on mortgage). The insurance can actually cover everything if they go with the repair but they prefer to have it as total lost because they don't want to suffer from back jobs.

Now the 3rd party is denying their signature because when I had it notarized, they were not there. Does it automatically void their signature or make the affidavit null since they're not in front of the notary public? What if I have a proof that they are really the one who signed the affidavit? We had a meeting which I was able to record on my phone asking me to surrender the affidavit of desistance so they can claim from their insurance. Can I use the voice recording as a proof sa court that they're the one who signed the affidavit?

Thank you very much in advance.

Mike Lopez

If a document was not notarized, it does not mean it was not executed faithfully. It may be authenticated using the proper procedures in court.

If you did not ask permission to record the conversation, you cannot use it in court.

thank you very much atty, one more please. how about the witnesses when they signed the affidavit like the traffic enforcer/PO2 and my girlfriend who was there with me? will they be able to help me prove that they signed the document? also the SMS that I still kept on my phone asking me the surrender the affidavit, will that help?

Thank you again Atty.

Yes.