House Bill 928

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 89-5-8, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ALLOW SCRIVENER'S AFFIDAVITS TO CORRECT ERRORS IN INSTRUMENTS AFFECTING REAL ESTATE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 89-5-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

89-5-8. (1) Any affidavit relating to the identification, the marital status, the heirship, the relation, the death, or the time of death, of any person who is a party to any instrument affecting the title to real estate, or any affidavit relating to the identification of any corporation or other legal entity which is a party to any instrument affecting the title to real estate, duly sworn to and acknowledged before any officer or person authorized to administer an oath under the laws of this state, shall be recordable in the land records in the office of the chancery clerk in the county where the real estate is situated.

(2) Any affidavit of scrivener's error or affidavit in furtherance of identification and title to real estate sworn to and acknowledged before any officer or person authorized to administer an oath under the laws of this state, shall be recordable in the land records in the office of the chancery clerk in the county where the real estate is situated. If an affidavit is conspicuously identified as a scrivener's affidavit or affidavit in furtherance of title in its title, the chancery clerk shall index the affidavit in the general index under the names of the original parties to the instrument as they are identified in the affidavit and in the sectional index as provided for in the indexing instructions of the instrument. Notice of the corrective information as provided by the affiant is deemed to have been given as of the time the corrective affidavit is recorded.

( * * *23) Any affidavit so recorded, or a certified copy thereof, shall be admissible as evidence in any action involving the instrument to which it relates or the title to the real estate affected by the instrument and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein and the marketability of the title to real estate.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.