H. B. 4416
(By Delegate Hunt)
[Introduced February 6, 2006; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §39-1-2c, relating to
preventing the recordation of fraudulent deeds; duty of
notification by the clerk of the county commission of each
county; and allowing collection of a fee to cover costs.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §39-1-2c, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 1. AUTHENTICATION AND RECORD OF WRITINGS.
§39-1-2c. Notice of transfer to current owner.
For the purpose of effectuating the intents and purposes of
the "Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act," and of this article, the
clerk of the county commission of any county who admits to record a transfer of real property, by deed or otherwise, must notify the
current holder of record title of the transfer within five days by
United States first class mail. A fee for this duty shall be
charged to the party recording the transfer of property in the
amount of five dollars.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prevent the recording of
fraudulent deeds, obviating the likelihood that a property owner
will have claims against the title to real estate created without
his or her knowledge. The bill requires clerks of county
commissions to notify the current owner of record by mail whenever
a transfer of title to real property is recorded. The bill allows
the clerks to charge a fee to the recording party to cover expenses
of this duty.
§39-1-2c is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.