§201-B. Notice; construction of provisions

1.  Preservation of claims by filing of notice.  Section 201-A shall apply to an exception, reservation or recital in a conveyance, mortgage, devise or other transfer of real property or of any interest therein made prior to the effective date of this section as well as to those made thereon or thereafter; provided that, if and to the extent constitutionally necessary to preserve rights, if any, existing at the effective date of section 201-A, that section shall not apply to such an exception, reservation or recital made previous to the effective date of that section, provided that within 2 years of the effective date of this section a person claiming such existing right, if any, shall have recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district thereof in which the land is located the following:

A. The notice provided in subsection 2, and the deed or other instrument evidencing the previous conveyance, mortgage, devise or other transfer under which he claims, if such deed or instrument was not recorded previous to the effective date of this section; or   [PL 1977, c. 504 (NEW).]

B. The notice provided in subsection 2, if such deed or other instrument under which he claims is lost or if such deed or instrument although recorded previous to the effective date of this section was not recorded previous to the deed or other instrument containing such exception, reservation or recital.   [PL 1977, c. 504 (NEW).]

[PL 1977, c. 504 (NEW).]

2.  Filing of notice; recording fee; indexing.  In order for the notice specified in subsection 1 to be effective, it shall contain an adequate description of the property in which the right, title or interest is claimed; a reference to the deed or other instrument on which the claim is based; the name of the current record owner of the property; a specific reference by date of recording and by volume and page numbers to the recorded deed or other instrument containing the exception, reservation or recital; and shall be duly verified by oath taken by any person authorized to perform notarial acts. The register of deeds for the county or district thereof in which the land is located shall accept all such notices presented that describe property located in such county or district and shall enter and record them in the same manner that deeds and other instruments are recorded and shall be entitled to charge the same fee for the recording thereof as is charged for recording deeds. In indexing such notice, the register of deeds shall enter it in the grantee index of deeds under the name of the claimant appearing in the notice and in the grantor index of deeds under the name of the record owner appearing in the notice. Within a reasonable time after recording such notice, the register of deeds shall enter upon the margin of the record of the previous instruments referred to by volume and page numbers in such notice the volume and page in which the record of such notice may be found. The person filing the notice shall deliver or mail a copy thereof to the current record owner of the property at the last known address of such owner.

[PL 1977, c. 504 (NEW).]

3.  Persons under disability; 2-year period not suspended.  The notice provided in subsection 1 may be filed for record by the claimant or any other person acting on behalf of any claimant who is under a disability or unable to assert a claim on his own behalf, but no disability or lack of knowledge of any kind shall suspend or extend the period provided for such filing.

[PL 1977, c. 504 (NEW).]

4.  Statutes of limitations not extended.  Nothing contained in section 201-A and in this section shall be construed to extend the period limited for the bringing of any action or for the doing of any other required act or to otherwise extend any statute of limitations; nor shall it be construed as legislative recognition of the existence of any claims that it may bar.

[PL 1977, c. 504 (NEW).]

5.  Liberal construction.  Section 201-A and this section shall be liberally construed to effect the legislative purpose of enhancing the marketability of the title to real property by eliminating the possibility of interests under certain unrecorded or late recorded deeds.

[PL 1977, c. 504 (NEW).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1977, c. 504 (NEW).