2013 -- H 5231

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LC00436

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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A N A C T

RELATING TO PROPERTY - RECORDING OF INSTRUMENTS

     Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Ackerman, Newberry, Lima, and Lombardi

     Date Introduced: January 31, 2013

     Referred To: House Judiciary

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 34-13-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-13 entitled "Recording

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Of Instruments" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     34-13-1. Instruments eligible for recording. -- Any of the following instruments shall

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be recorded or filed by the town clerk or recorder of deeds, in the manner prescribed by law, on

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request of any person and on payment of the lawful fees therefor:

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      (1) Letters of attorney.

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      (2) All contracts for sale of land.

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      (3) Bonds for title or covenants or powers concerning lands, tenements and

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hereditaments.

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      (4) All notices to be filed under the provisions of section 9-4-9.

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      (5) All notices and process to be filed under other statutory provisions, and all decrees in

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equity and judgments at law affecting the title to land.

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      (6) All instruments evidencing or relating to a security interest in personal property or

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fixtures that may be filed pursuant to chapter 9 of title 6A.

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      (7) All instruments required by statute to be recorded, including deeds, mortgages and

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transfers and discharges thereof, leases or memoranda thereof, and transfers and cancellations

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thereof, and the covenants, conditions, agreements and powers therein contained.

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      (8) Instruments of defeasance.

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      (9) Instruments (excepting wills) creating trusts.

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      (10) All instruments and notices, affecting, or purporting to affect, the title to land or any

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interest therein or giving or terminating the right to sever any building or part thereof or fixture,

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when signed and acknowledged as required for deeds.

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      (11) All affidavits as to family facts, including dates of birth, marriage, and death, which

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relate or purport to relate to title to land.

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      (12) All affidavits as to bounds and monuments of land.

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      (13) All certificates of the secretary of state as to change of corporate name.

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      (14) All original linen and/or original mylar maps, plats, surveys, and drawings, whether

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or not attached to, or a part of, another recordable instrument, Provided, however, That those

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requiring the approval of any council; commission, officer, or other body by law shall not be

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recorded without such approval.

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      All survey plans received for recording shall be drawn on archival mylar or linen, those

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of which shall not exceed a size of 24" x 36" and shall be recorded as originally drafted. Said

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plans shall contain as a minimum all items set forth in the "Procedural and Technical Standards

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for the practice of Land Surveying in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" as

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adopted by the Rhode Island Board of Registration of Professional Land Surveyors effective

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April 1, 1994 and any amendments or modifications thereof. Further, all plans must be able to be

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reproduced so that the contents of said plans are legible.

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      Indexes of survey plans shall be maintained indicating (a) the title of the plan; and (b)

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the street(s) or road(s) on which the subject property abuts. Such plans shall include a separate

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listing, in or attached to the legend on the plan, of all streets and roads on which the subject

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property abuts.

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      (15) All declarations of restrictions and covenants in connection with a plat of record or

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to be recorded or with a tract or parcel of land which is to be subdivided.

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      (16) Statements of covenants, conditions, and powers of sale which are intended to be

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incorporated in mortgages by reference.

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      (17) Affidavits of facts relating to title or interest in real estate.

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     SECTION 2. Chapter 34-13 of the General Laws entitled "Recording Of Instruments" is

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hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     34-13-13. Affidavit of facts relating to title or in interest in real estate. – (a) An

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affidavit, which states facts relating to the matters named in subsection (b) and which may affect

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the title to or any interest in real estate in this state, and which is made by any person having

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knowledge of the facts or competent to testify concerning them in open court, may be recorded in

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the land evidence records of the city or town in which the real estate is situated. If so recorded,

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and if the affiant is dead or otherwise not available to testify in court, then the affidavit, or a

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certified copy of it, is admissible as prima facie evidence of the facts stated in it, so far as those

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facts affect title to real estate in any action involving the title to that real estate or any interest in

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it.

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     (b) The matters to which an affidavit provided for in this section may relate to include,

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but are not limited to, age, sex, birth, death, capacity, relationship, family history, heirship,

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names, identity of parties, marital status, possession, adverse use, residence, service in the armed

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forces, conflicts and ambiguities in description of land in recorded instruments, the happening of

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any condition or event which may terminate an estate or interest and the correlation of assessor's

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plat and lot numbers to deed descriptions.

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     (c) Every affidavit provided for in this section should include a description of the land,

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title to which may be affected by facts stated in the affidavit, and should state the name of the

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person appearing by record to be the owner of the land at the time of the recording of the

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affidavit. The recorder of deeds shall index the affidavit in the name of the record owner.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC00436

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO PROPERTY - RECORDING OF INSTRUMENTS

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     This act would add an affidavit of facts relating to title or interest in real estate to those

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instruments eligible for recording.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC00436

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