When an agent signs an estate contract, the signature is only one part of the review. The file may also need the power of attorney, acceptance or certification language, revocation history, identity records, and transaction-specific instructions. A document reviewer can collect and compare those materials without deciding whether the authority was legally sufficient. The goal is a traceable package that shows what was signed, by whom, in what stated capacity, and which questions still belong with counsel or another qualified professional.
Define the signing event
Begin with the executed contract and transcribe the signature block exactly. Capture the signer’s printed name, the principal’s name, the stated agency language, date, witness and notary information, and any attached signature page. If the contract contains multiple signatures, identify which one appears to rely on an agent. This simple first step prevents a review from drifting into a generic search for every power-of-attorney record in the file.
Locate the authority instrument
Search the matter repository, closing platform, correspondence, and recorded-instrument index for the authority document. Record the filename, source, page count, apparent execution date, and whether the copy is complete. A cover page or excerpt may identify the instrument without showing its operative provisions. Mark an incomplete copy as incomplete. Do not fill missing language from a standard form or assume that a familiar title means the document contains the authority needed for this transaction.
Map the names and roles
Compare the principal and agent names across the contract, power of attorney, identity materials, notices, and related property records. Preserve punctuation, middle names, suffixes, and alternate spellings. Record whether the document calls the signer an agent, attorney-in-fact, representative, trustee, or another role. Those labels may have different significance in context. The reviewer’s task is to identify the wording and differences, then route any question about effect or scope to the appropriate professional.
Build an execution timeline
Place the authority instrument, any amendment or revocation, the contract, notices, and closing materials in date order. Use separate fields for signed date, notarization date, recording date, delivery date, and electronic completion date. A recording date does not necessarily answer when a document was executed. An email date does not necessarily establish acceptance. The timeline should show the evidence for each event and identify where the order cannot be established from the available records.
Check transaction-specific references
Some authority documents contain broad language; others reference particular property, accounts, or transactions. Create a cross-reference from each property identifier, legal description, parcel number, and contract description to the authority record where it appears. If the power of attorney names no property, say so rather than treating that absence as either permission or prohibition. A qualified professional can then assess the instrument in light of governing law and the matter’s facts.
Review signature mechanics
Inspect the signed page for initials, printed names, capacity language, witness lines, notarial venue, acknowledgment wording, and signs of a detached or substituted page. Compare page numbering and document hashes where the signing platform supplies them. Keep a copy of the completion certificate or audit trail with the source log. Mechanical inconsistencies are review findings; they are not, by themselves, a conclusion about enforceability.
Record notices and ratification references
Later correspondence may say that a principal approved, rejected, or became aware of the agreement. Collect the actual correspondence and identify whether it references the same contract version. A later message can be relevant to the file without answering every authority question. Record the sender, recipient, date, attachment, and referenced clause. Avoid summarizing a message as “ratified” unless a qualified professional has made that determination and the file expressly records it.
Create an exception matrix
Useful fields include issue number, source document, page, observable discrepancy, related contract clause, missing item, and escalation owner. Examples are an agent name that differs from the authority instrument, a contract signed before the available power of attorney, a missing notarial page, an unclear principal identity, or an authority record that refers to another transaction. The matrix should distinguish “not found,” “not provided,” and “not applicable,” because each status implies a different next action.
Handoff with boundaries
Give the supervising attorney, fiduciary, title professional, or other authorized decision-maker the signed contract, authority instrument, timeline, name comparison, execution notes, correspondence, and exception matrix. State the search locations and the limits of the assignment. Do not tell a client that the agent had authority simply because the signature block used agency wording. The handoff should make a decision safer by making the underlying evidence easier to inspect.
Preserve the review trail
Keep original filenames, retrieval dates, source URLs or repository locations, and version relationships. If a new certified copy arrives, add it as a new record and explain what it replaces or supplements. Limit access to confidential personal information and avoid distributing unnecessary identity documents. A well-preserved trail allows the next reviewer to repeat the check, understand what was unavailable, and distinguish new evidence from a changed conclusion.
Close the assignment only after the source inventory, signature comparison, and exception list agree about the number of instruments reviewed. If a later email introduces another version, reopen the affected rows instead of appending an informal note. This keeps the file understandable to someone who did not attend the signing session and distinguishes documentary facts from authority questions that depend on governing law.