46:7-1. Deed of confirmation

46:7-1. Whenever a corporation or association, created under any law of this State, shall have made, during its corporate existence, a deed or conveyance of real estate in this State, or of an interest therein, and thereafter shall have ceased to exist by reason of dissolution, death of its members or otherwise, and it shall be discovered that an error exists in such deed or conveyance, any surviving president, vice-president, director or trustee of such defunct corporation or association may, by deed of confirmation, containing a proper recital, correct the error in the original deed or conveyance. If no one of the surviving officers hereinbefore named be living, the oldest adult child, or, if there be none living, the oldest adult grandchild of any such president, vice-president, last surviving director or trustee may make such deed of confirmation. Prior to the making of any such deed of confirmation, the person claiming to be entitled to the benefit of this section shall institute an action in the Superior Court, against any person within or without the State hereby authorized to make the deed of confirmation. The court may proceed therein in a summary manner or otherwise and, after considering the nature of the error or defect in the original deed or conveyance, and the relief sought, may, if convinced of the merit of the action, direct the proper person to execute and acknowledge the confirmatory deed.

If the person so directed to execute the confirmatory deed shall fail to comply with the judgment of the court within twenty days after the service of a certified copy thereof, the court making the judgment may, upon proof thereof, appoint a commissioner to execute the confirmatory deed.

The costs of the action shall be chargeable to the plaintiff.

A confirmatory deed executed and acknowledged or proved in accordance with the terms of this section shall be as valid and effective as if duly made, executed and acknowledged or proved under the corporate seal of such corporation or association during the period of its corporate existence.

Amended 1953,c.44,s.3; 1987,c.357,s.2.