Mississippi Real Estate Recording Changes

The Mississippi legislature recently passed new laws that change and clarify the rules for recording legal documents in Mississippi.  The new amendments , which have been signed by the governor and take effect on July 1, 2011, will change the way Mississippi real estate attorneys prepare documents for recording with local chancery clerks.

New Acknowledgement Provisions

The new legislation provides a safe-harbor form of general acknowledgment that can be used by business organizations:

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority in and for the said county and  state, on this ________ day of ________, 20________, within my jurisdiction, the within named ________, who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed in the above and foregoing instrument and acknowledged that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their representative capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument, and as the act and deed of the person(s) or entity(ies) upon behalf of which he/she/they acted, executed the above and foregoing instrument, after first having been duly authorized so to do.

Mississippi real estate attorneys typically use the model language in the current statute for acknowledgment by business entities, but the model language doesn’t cover every possible combination of business entity.  This new safe harbor language will help address these deficiencies.

The new legislation also allows chancery clerks to refuse to record an instrument that is not properly acknowledged.  But if the chancery clerk does record the document, it is constructive notice notwithstanding the defective acknowledgement.

The original bill included language stating that acknowledgments used in other states would be recognized in Mississippi if they were proper in the laws of the state where the document was signed.  This provision generated a heated discussion within the Mississippi Bar’s Real Property Section prior to the passage of the bill.  Some felt that this would place too great a burden on Mississippi attorneys by requiring them to make a judgment call about the validity of out-of-state acknowledgments.  The exclusion of this language is likely to have little effect, however, since the recordation of an acknowledgement done in another state, even if defective, will serve as constructive notice.

New Real Estate Recording Requirements

New legislation will also change the requirements for recording Mississippi legal documents, including deeds and certificates of trust.  These new requirements update the changes made a few years ago, which significantly changed the way we prepare documents for recording in Mississippi. Here’s a summary of the new changes:

• All documents must now use at least 10 point font.  This is an increase from the 8 point font permitted under the prior law.
• The document preparer must list his or her physical address and business telephone number. The prior law allowed the preparer to use a post office box and a cellular or home telephone number.
• The first page of the document must list the name, physical mailing address and business phone number of ever grantor, grantee, borrower, beneficiary, trustee, or other party to the instrument. Prior law required this information on deeds only (and not deeds of trust, etc.).

All of these changes go into effect on July 1, 2011.