Title 44 — Title 44

Presumption of validity, §44-5-157. Annuities. When fund under endowment or annuity contract presumed abandoned, §44-12-198. Bailments. Pawnbrokers. As to pledgors, §44-12-137. Bank deposits and collections. Deposits or other interests in banking or financial organization. When pr…

(a) The fees payable under this article to the examiner of titles shall be as follows: (1) For examining a title and making a report to the court, an examiner shall receive $1.00 per $1,000.00 or fraction thereof on the value of land, as determined by the court, not to exceed a m…

A prima-facie case shall be made out in actions respecting title to land upon showing good record title for a period of 40 years, and it shall not be necessary under such circumstances to prove title to the original grant from the state. (Ga. L. 1953, Jan.-Feb. Sess., p. 63, § 1.…

The following is prescribed as the form of petition to be used when application is made for the original register of lands: IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA In re petition of ) ) ) ) Civil action File no. 143 The petition of shows: The petitioner applies to have t…

The following is prescribed as the form of process to be attached to the petition: IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA To the sheriffs of said state and their lawful deputies: The respondents and all other persons whom it may concern are required to show cause before…

The advertisement to be inserted in the newspaper in which sheriff’s sales of the county are advertised for four insertions in separate weeks should be substantially in the following form: IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA In re petition of ) ) ) Civil action File …

Service of process, §44-2-224. Waiver of notice or service, §44-2-70. Mortgages, §44-14-33. Executed outside state, §44-14-34. Recordation, §§44-2-14 to 44-2-17, 44-2-21. Effect of acknowledgment subsequent to execution, §44-2-16. Officers authorized to attest, §44-2-15. Validity…

The sheriff’s return should be made substantially in the following form and entered on or attached to the petition: STATE OF GEORGIA, COUNTY I have served copies of the within petition and process, or of the summons in substitute therefor, upon the following persons at the time a…

The clerk should also enter on the petition a certificate substantially in the following form: I certify that on the day of , , I mailed to each of the following persons a copy of the within petition and process to his post office address as disclosed by the record: 150 44-2-226 …

A form reading substantially as follows should be used in appointing examiners: IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA In re petition of ) ) ) Civil action File no. ORDER , a competent attorney at law, of good standing in his profession and of at least three years’ expe…

The examiner is required to take the following oath, to be filed along with the order of his appointment in the office of the clerk of the superior court of his residence: ‘‘I, , do swear that I will faithfully, well, and truly perform the duties of examiner under the Land Regist…

Upon the clerk’s notifying the judge that a petition has been filed, the judge shall promptly refer the petition to an examiner in substantially the following form: IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA In re petition of ) ) ) ) Civil action File no. ORDER Application …

Execution and deed after sheriff’s sale, §44-2-5. Out of state deeds to realty or personalty, §44-2-21. Quitclaim deeds. Bonds for title, conveyances to secure debt, purchase contracts, etc. Following judgment, §44-14-210. Subsequent deeds conveying lands. Priority over unrecorde…

The following is suggested as the general form of the preliminary report of an examiner: IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA In re petition of ) ) ) ) Civil action File no. 152 44-2-230 PRELIMINARY REPORT Application to register land having been duly considered, the …

The following is suggested as the general form of the examiner’s final report: IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA In re petition of ) ) ) ) Civil action File no. FINAL REPORT Application to register land having been duly considered, the undersigned, as examiner, mak…

Decrees of title should be rendered in accordance with the following form: IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA In re petition of ) ) ) ) Civil action File no. DECREE OF TITLE The above entitled action coming on to be heard and it appearing to the court that process h…

(a) It is contemplated by this article that the book known as the register of decrees of title shall be made up in the following manner: (1) It shall be of such size that each page may contain a full copy of the decree of title; (2) Only one decree should be entered on any page; …

(a) It is contemplated by this article that the title register shall be a well-bound book with pages not less than 18 inches wide. It shall be labeled on the back with the words ‘‘Title Register’’ followed by the name of the county. For convenience, additional labels may be used …

Upon request of any person and the payment of lawful fees, the clerk shall issue a certified copy of any certificate of title or of any entry thereon in like manner as he may issue certified copies of any other public record in his office; but, whenever he does so, he shall plain…

Surrendered and canceled upon transfer of indebtedness, §44-2-164. Copies.

Where an affidavit of forgery has been filed to the plaintiff’s deed, and the deed has been turned over to the defendant or his counsel in order to procure evidence upon the issue of forgery, and such deed is destroyed or lost by the defendant or his counsel or for any cause is n…

(a) The form of the owner’s certificate of title shall correspond in general with the certificate of title form except that it shall be headed with the words ‘‘Owner’s Certificate of Title.’’ It is suggested that it be prepared on paper of suitable size which shall be folded into…

Uniformity, §44-2-220. Updating entries and notations on owner’s certificate, §44-2-252. Fraud in connection with registration of title to land, §44-2-43. Fraud in transaction or registration.

(a) The following is a form of the creditor’s certificate referred to in this article: CREDITOR’S CERTIFICATE State of Georgia, County: Registered Title No. Certificate No. I hereby certify that the title to the estate hereinafter mentioned in the following described land lying i…

Liability of assurance fund, §44-2-197. Trustees. Bring actions for persons under disability, §44-2-62. Procedure for ascertaining and transfer to heirs or beneficiaries of registered land, §44-2-171. Trust lands. Registering subsequent transfers or voluntary conveyances of land h…

(a) Where the judge orders a transfer to be made under any of the provisions of this article, the judge’s order of transfer shall be in the following form unless the exigencies of the case require a different form: 166 44-2-244 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF STATE OF GEORGIA COUNTY ) )…

(a) The regular form of mortgaging shall be as follows: The undersigned to 167 44-2-245 secure the following indebtedness mortgages to the estate, title, and interest of the undersigned in and to all of the tracts of land described in the certificate of title No. , herewith shown…

Delinquent taxes and assessments shall be noted on the title register when the officer charged with the collection of taxes files with the clerk a certificate substantially in the following form: NOTATION OF DELINQUENT TAXES I certify that (state, county, or city, as the case may…

The regular form to be used for the notation of a judgment on the title register is as follows: NOTATION OF JUDGMENT To the clerk of the Superior Court, Please note on certificate of title No. , a judgment issued from Court of of v. for the amount of $ This County, Georgia: , Reg…

The owner of a creditor’s certificate may authorize the clerk to register the cancellation thereof by writing thereon ‘‘Canceled. The clerk will please cancel the same on the title register’’ and dating and signing the same in the presence of an officer authorized to attest deeds…

All decrees, deeds, mortgages, or other instruments affecting the title to land shall be recorded by the clerk of the superior court by the use of printing, typewriting, handwriting in ink, photostating, or photographing, which record shall be clear, legible, and permanent. The r…

Authority for the clerk to cancel entries of other liens, mortgages, encumbrances, special claims, and like matters may be conferred by the execution by the person in whose favor such matters exist or his personal representative of a request as follows: REQUEST TO CANCEL ENTRY To…

Reserved. Repealed by Ga. L. 1989, p. 563, § 8, effective April 3, 1989. 170 44-2-253 Editor’s notes. — This Code section was based on Ga. L. 1917, p. 108, § 117; Code 1933, § 60-632; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 44. 44-2-252. Updating entries and notations on owner’s certificate; clerk’…

Mortgages, conveyances to secure debt and liens. Conveyances to secure debt and bills of sale. Generally, §§44-14-60 to 44-14-67. Reversion, §§44-14-80 to 44-14-85. Expiration and extension of instruments affecting personalty, §§44-14-140 to 44-14-144. Foreclosure. Foreclosure of…

Effect of incorporation prior to authorization, §44-2-29. Place of filing, §44-2-26. Ratification of record made prior to statutory authorization, §44-2-29. Reference. Incorporation by, §44-2-28. 1132 INDEX RECORDATION —Cont’d Plats or copies of plats —Cont’d When deemed recorded, …

When any deed, mortgage, or other instrument conveying an interest in or creating a lien on real property refers to the boundaries, metes, courses, or distances of the real estate delineated or shown on any plat of the property or on any blueprint, tracing, photostatic copy, or o…

Release of lien on approval of bond. Real property and affidavit, §44-14-364. Special liens on personal property.

Every unrecorded voluntary deed or conveyance of land made by any person shall be void as against subsequent bona fide purchasers for value without notice of such voluntary deed or conveyance; provided, however, that, if the voluntary deed or conveyance is recorded in accordance …

(a) Any party, or his or her legal representative, to a settlement which will convey legal or equitable title to real estate or any interest therein or create any lien thereon by way of a deed to secure debt, mortgage, or other instrument may file an instrument to be designated a…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the ‘‘Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.’’ (Code 1981, § 44-2-35, enacted by Ga. L. 2009, p. 695, § 1/HB 127.) 44-2-36. Definitions.

As used in this part, the term: (1) ‘‘Authority’’ means the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority established pursuant to Code Section 15-6-94. (2) ‘‘Document’’ means information that is: (A) Inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or othe…

Definitions. Electronic documents treated as original; electronic signatures acceptable. 44-2-38. Role of clerk of court.

A clerk of superior court: (1) Who implements any of the functions listed in this Code section shall do so in compliance with standards established by the authority; (2) May receive, index, store, archive, and transmit electronic documents; (3) May provide for access to, and sear…

(a) The authority shall adopt rules and regulations and any standardized forms necessary to implement this part. (b) To promote uniform standards and practices and compatibility of technology used within offices of clerks of superior court in this state and recording offices in o…

In applying and construing this part, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact substantially similar provisions. (Code 1981, § 44-2-39.1, enacted by Ga. L. 2009, p. 695, § 1/HB 127.) 88 44…

Foreclosure in equity. Right of holder, §44-14-49. Evidence. Admission into evidence, §44-14-38. Execution outside state. Attested, acknowledged or probated in same manner as deeds of bargain and sale, §44-14-34. Executors and administrators. Foreclosure of mortgage on real estat…

This article shall be known and may be cited as ‘‘The Land Registration Law.’’ (Ga. L. 1917, p. 108, § 1; Code 1933, § 60-101.)

As used in this article, the term: (1) ‘‘Clerk’’ means the clerk of the superior court of the county where the land is located and includes his lawful deputies and any person lawfully acting as clerk under the general laws or under this article. (2) ‘‘Court’’ means the superior c…

The duties required of the clerk and the sheriff by this article may be performed through their lawful deputies; but the clerk or the sheriff, as the case may be, shall be responsible for the acts of such deputies. (Ga. L. 1917, p. 108, § 83; Code 1933, § 60-415; Ga. L. 1982, p. …

Effect of fraud, §44-2-137. Limitation on actions to set aside, §44-2-137. Fraud of person or officer in connection with registration. Actions against person or officer, §44-2-138. Statute of limitations governing, §44-2-138. Fraud or false entries by sheriffs and deputies, §44-2…