134.127 Payment of amount due on certificate of delinquency to the clerk. (1) (a) The following persons may pay to the county clerk at any time the total amount due on a certificate of delinquency or personal property certificate of delinquency that is owned by the taxing jurisdictions and in the possession of the county clerk. It shall be the responsibility of the person seeking to pay the county clerk to provide sufficient proof to the county clerk that he or she meets the requirements to pay under this paragraph. The county clerk shall be held harmless if he or she relies upon information provided and accepts payment from a person not qualified to pay under this paragraph. The county clerk may also accept partial payments from these persons: 1. 2. The person primarily liable on the certificate of delinquency or personal property certificate of delinquency, or a person paying on behalf of the person primarily liable on the certificate, provided that a person paying on behalf of the person primarily liable on the certificate under this paragraph shall, notwithstanding the provisions of KRS 134.126(5), be treated in the same manner as the person primarily liable on the certificate and shall not be treated as an assignee or a transferee under the provisions of this chapter; and The following persons may pay a certificate of delinquency or personal property certificate of delinquency that relates to the specific property in which he or she has an interest, other than a person whose only interest in the property is an interest resulting from a prior year certificate of delinquency: a. Any person having a legal or equitable estate in real property subject to a certificate of delinquency; b. A tenant or lawful occupant of real property, or a bailee or person in possession of any personal property; or c. Any person having a mortgage on real property or a security interest in real or personal property. Upon full payment of a certificate of delinquency under this subparagraph, KRS 134.126(5), (6), (7), and (8) shall apply regarding the rights and interests of the person making the payment. (b) Any other person may pay the total amount due on a certificate of delinquency that is owned by the taxing jurisdictions and in the possession of the county clerk to the county clerk after ninety (90) days have passed from the filing of the tax claims with the county clerk in accordance with KRS 134.128. (c) 1. Only the persons listed in paragraph (a) of this subsection may pay a personal property certificate of delinquency. Personal property certificates of delinquency shall not be included in any sale conducted under KRS 134.128, and may not be purchased by any third party not specifically listed in paragraph (a) of this subsection. 2. A certificate of delinquency on property of a public service company that is centrally assessed, and that includes personal property and real property on the same certificate of delinquency, shall be treated for all purposes as a certificate of delinquency on real property. (2) The duties of the county clerk with regard to payment of a certificate of delinquency or personal property certificate of delinquency by a person other than the person primarily liable on the certificate, are set forth in KRS 134.126(5) and (6). (3) (a) The delinquent taxpayer or any person having a legal or equitable estate in the property covered by a certificate of delinquency may, at any time, pay the total amount due to a third-party purchaser of a certificate of delinquency. The third-party purchaser may also accept payment from any other person at any time. (b) When full payment for a certificate of delinquency is made to a third-party purchaser, the third-party purchaser shall execute a release of the lien in accordance with the provisions of KRS 382.365. The remedies included in KRS 382.365 shall apply if the third-party purchaser fails to release the lien as provided in KRS 382.365. (c) Any person other than the person primarily liable on a certificate of delinquency who pays a certificate of delinquency to a third-party purchaser may, by paying a fee pursuant to KRS 64.012, have the county clerk record the payment, and the recordation shall constitute an assignment thereof, and KRS 134.126(6) and (8) shall apply. Failure of an assignee to record the assignment shall render the claim of such person to any real estate represented thereby inferior to the rights of other bona fide purchasers, payors, or creditors. (d) If the third-party purchaser fails to release the lien in accordance with the provisions of KRS 382.365, or to surrender the certified copy of the certificate of delinquency to the person making full payment within thirty (30) days after payment has been tendered at the mailing address designated in the notice required by KRS 134.490 or the mailing address of record in the county clerk's office if no notice has been provided as required by KRS 134.490, the person making the payment shall have all of the remedies provided in KRS 382.365. (e) 1. A person entitled to make payment under this section who is having difficulty locating the third-party purchaser of the certificate of delinquency to make payment may send a registered letter addressed to the third-party purchaser of record at the address reflected in the most recent notice received from the third-party purchaser pursuant to KRS 134.490, or if no notice has been received, at the address reflected in the records of the county clerk, indicating a desire to make payment. If the letter is returned by mail unclaimed, or if the third-party purchaser fails to respond in writing within thirty (30) days, the sender may take to the county clerk as proof of mailing the certified mail receipts stamped by the post office showing that the certified letter was mailed to the correct address and the date it was mailed. If the letter was returned, the sender shall also provide the returned letter to the clerk. The sender shall attest under oath that the letter was mailed to the correct address, and if the letter was not returned, the attestation shall also provide that the third- party purchaser did not respond in writing within thirty (30) days of the date the letter was mailed. The department shall develop attestation forms for distribution to the county clerks that include a notice that any false statement made in the attestation shall be punishable by law. The form shall be a public record under KRS 519.010(2), subject to KRS 519.060(1)(a). The clerks' taking of such testimony shall be an official proceeding under KRS 523.010(3). 2. Upon the acceptance of proof and attestation by the county clerk that the person has failed in his or her attempt to contact the third-party purchaser about making payment, the person may pay the full amount due as reflected in the records maintained by the county clerk plus applicable interest, and the county clerk shall make the necessary assignment or release of the certificate of delinquency. The county clerk shall also discharge any notice filed pursuant to KRS 382.440 or 382.450 as provided in KRS 382.470, except the county clerk shall prepare and record an in-house release executed by the county clerk along with the proof of payment, rather than requiring the signature or writing as required by KRS 382.470. The clerk shall receive a fee pursuant to KRS 64.012 for recording the release. 3. 4. 5. 6. The county clerk shall deposit the money paid in an escrow account for this specific purpose in a bank having its deposits insured with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The name of the bank in which the money is deposited shall be noted on the certificate of delinquency. The county clerk may maintain one (1) escrow account for all deposits made pursuant to this subparagraph and shall maintain a record reflecting the amount due each owner of a certificate of delinquency. The county clerk may deduct the sum of twenty dollars ($20) as a fee for such service. The county clerk shall mail a copy of the certificate of delinquency by regular mail to the third-party purchaser of record at the address on the certificate of delinquency. If any county clerk fails to pay to the person entitled thereto, upon written demand clearly identified as a demand for payment, the money received in payment of a certificate of delinquency, the county clerk and the county clerk's sureties shall be liable for the amount of the payment and twenty percent (20%) interest thereon annually from the fifteenth day after the time the county clerk received the written demand until paid. (4) Copies of the records provided for in this section and KRS 134.126, when certified by the county clerk, shall be evidence of the facts stated in them in all the courts of this state. Effective: April 23, 2012 History: Amended 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 161, sec. 3, effective April 23, 2012. -- Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 75, sec. 6, effective April 7, 2010. -- Created 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 10, sec. 9, effective January 1, 2010.