No deed of absolute conveyance of land or any conveyance, absolute or otherwise, of minerals or mineral rights shall be recorded by the county recorder until:

(A) The conveyance presented to the county recorder bears the stamp of the county auditor stating the conveyance has been examined and the grantor has complied with section 319.202 of the Revised Code;

(B) Such conveyance has been presented to the county auditor, and by the county auditor indorsed "transferred," or "transfer not necessary."

Before any real estate, the title to which has passed under the laws of descent, is transferred from the name of the ancestor to the heir at law or next of kin of such ancestor, or to any grantee of such heir or next of kin; and before any deed or conveyance of real estate made by any such heir or next of kin is presented to or filed for record by the recorder, the heir or next of kin, or that person's grantee, agent, or attorney shall present to the auditor the affidavit of such heir or next of kin, or of two persons resident of this state, each of whom has personal knowledge of the facts. Such affidavit shall set forth the date of the ancestor's death, and the place of residence at the time of death; the fact that the ancestor died intestate; the names, ages, and addresses, so far as known and can be ascertained, of each of such ancestor's heirs at law and next of kin, who, by the ancestor's death, inherited such real estate, the relationship of each to the ancestor, and the part or portion of such real estate inherited by each. Such transfers shall be made by the auditor in accordance with the statement contained in the affidavit, and the auditor shall indorse upon the deed or conveyance the fact that such transfer was made by affidavit. The affidavit shall be filed with the county recorder of the county in which such real estate is situated, at or before the time such deed or conveyance is filed with the county recorder, and shall be recorded by the county recorder of the county in the official records and indexed in the direct and reverse indexes in the county recorder's office, in the name of such ancestor as grantor and of each such heir or next of kin as grantee, in the same manner as if such names occurred in a deed of conveyance from the ancestor to such heirs at law. The county recorder shall receive the same fees for such indexing and recording as provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code.

(C) The record of such affidavit shall, in the trial of any cause, so far as competent, be prima-facie evidence.

(D) No county recorder shall record a conveyance if the indorsement, indorsements, or stamps of indorsement of a county auditor indicating compliance with section 319.202 of the Revised Code on the conveyance are in whole or in part defaced, illegible, or incomplete.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 41, HB 72, §1, eff. 1/30/2014.

Effective Date: 03-18-1997 .