In addition to the methods for the collection of taxes provided for in this article, tax liens on real estate may be sold for the taxes assessed thereon in the manner prescribed in article three of this chapter.

A copy of each of the delinquent lists shall be posted at the front door of the courthouse of the county at least two weeks before the session of the county commission at which they are to be presented for examination. At the same time a copy of each list shall be published as a Class I-O legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county. Only the aggregate amount of the taxes owed by each person need be published. To cover the costs of preparing, publishing and posting the delinquent lists, a charge of ten dollars shall be added to the taxes and interest already due on each item listed.

PART I

In view of the paramount necessity of providing regular tax income for the state, county and municipal governments, particularly for school purposes; and in view of the further fact that delinquent land not only constitutes a public liability, but also represents a failure on the part of delinquent private owners to bear a fair share of the costs of government; and in view of the rights of owners of real property to adequate notice and an opportunity for redemption before they are divested of their interests in real property for failure to pay taxes or have their property entered on the landbooks; and in view of the fact that the circuit court suits heretofore provided prior to deputy commissioners' sales are unnecessary and a burden on the judiciary of the state; and in view of the necessity to continue the mechanism for the disposition of escheated and waste and unappropriated lands; now therefore, the Legislature declares that its purposes in the enactment of this article are as follows: (1) To provide for the speedy and expeditious enforcement of the tax claims of the state and its subdivisions; (2) to provide for the transfer of delinquent and nonentered lands to those more responsible to, or better able to bear, the duties of citizenship than were the former owners; (3) to secure adequate notice to owners of delinquent and nonentered property of the pending issuance of a tax deed; (4) to permit deputy commissioners of delinquent and nonentered lands to sell such lands without the necessity of proceedings in the circuit courts; (5) to reduce the expense and burden on the state and its subdivisions of tax sales so that such sales may be conducted in an efficient manner while respecting the due process rights of owners of real property; and (6) to provide for the disposition of escheated and waste and unappropriated lands.

(a) On or before September tenth of each year, the sheriff shall prepare a second list of delinquent lands, which shall include all real estate in his county remaining delinquent as of September first, together with a notice of sale, in form or effect as follows:

(a) Any person claiming a lien against real property shall be deemed to have waived any right to notice provided by sections two, twenty-two and fifty-five of this article unless he shall have filed a statement declaring such interest with the sheriff. Such statement shall be filed upon creation of the lien and upon release of said lien and upon any change of the lienholder's postal address since the original filing of such statement.

(a) No sheriff, clerk of the county commission or circuit court, assessor, nor deputy of any of them, shall directly or indirectly become the purchaser, or be interested in the purchase, of any tax lien on any real estate at the tax sale or receive any tax deed conveying such real estate. Any such officer so purchasing shall forfeit one thousand dollars for each offense. The sale of any tax lien on any real estate, or the conveyance of such real estate by tax deed, to one of the officers named in this section shall be voidable, at the instance of any person having the right to redeem, until such real estate reaches the hands of a bona fide purchaser.

(a) Whenever it shall appear to the sheriff that any real estate included in the list has been previously conveyed by deed and no tax thereon is currently delinquent, or that the tax lien thereon has been sold previously and not redeemed, or that the tax lien thereon ought not to be sold for the amount stated therein, he shall suspend the sale thereof and report his reasons therefor to the county commission and to the auditor. If the commission finds that the tax lien on the real estate ought not to be sold, it shall so order; but if the commission finds that the tax lien on the real estate ought to be sold for the amount stated, or for a greater or less amount, it shall order the sheriff to include such real estate in his next September list, unless sooner redeemed.

If no person present bids the amount of taxes, interest and charges due on any real estate offered for sale, the sheriff shall certify the real estate to the auditor for disposition pursuant to section forty-four of this article, subject, however, to the right of redemption provided by section thirty-eight of this article. The auditor shall prescribe the form by which the sheriff certifies the property.

(a) The sheriff shall account for the proceeds of all sales and redemptions included in such list in the same way he accounts for other taxes collected by him, except that if the purchase money paid for any property sold is in excess of the amount of taxes, interest and charges due thereon, the surplus shall be deposited in a special county fund to be known and designated as the "sale of tax lien surplus fund". Where there is a redemption after the sale, the sheriff shall also deposit into said fund the amount of taxes, interest and charges due on the date of the sale, plus the interest at the rate of one percent per month from the date of sale to the date of redemption, described in subdivision (2), subsection (b), section twenty-four of this article. Such surpluses shall be disposed of as follows:

(a) Within one month after completion of the sale, the sheriff shall deliver the original list of sales, suspensions and redemptions described in section nine of this article, with a copy thereof, to the clerk of the county commission. The clerk shall bind the original of such list in a permanent book to be kept for the purpose in his office, and shall note each sale and suspension, each redemption not previously noted, and each certification on his record of delinquent lands. The clerk, within ten days after delivery of the list to him, shall transmit the copy to the auditor, who shall note each sale, suspension, redemption and certification on the record of delinquent lands kept in his office.

If the sheriff shall make any error or omission in the list of sales, suspensions, redemptions and certifications returned to the clerk of the county commission, he or any person interested may, within six months after the sale, apply by petition to the county commission for an order permitting or requiring amendment of the list. Any person who might be prejudiced by the proposed amendment must, if found within the county, be given at least ten days' notice of such application. Upon proof of the error or mistake the commission shall make an order permitting or requiring the sheriff to file an amended list with the clerk of the commission. The sheriff shall thereupon prepare and deliver to the clerk of the commission the amended list and a copy thereof, with a copy of the order of the commission permitting or requiring it to be filed attached to the list and to the copy. The clerk shall substitute the original of the amended list for the list already in his office, and make the necessary corrections on his record of delinquent lands. The clerk shall transmit the copy of the amended list to the auditor who shall note the corrections on his record of delinquent lands.

Within one month after completion of the sale, the sheriff shall prepare and publish a list of all the sales and certifications made by him, in form or effect as follows, which list shall be published as a Class II-O legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county.

(a) If any person, being the highest bidder present at the sale provided for in section five of this article, bids and pays at least the amount of taxes, interest and charges for which the tax lien on any real estate is offered for sale, the sheriff shall issue to him a certificate of sale for the purchase money. The heading of the certificate shall be:

The certificate of sale shall be assignable by endorsement, and an assignment thereof, when entered upon the delinquent lands book of the clerk of the county commission, shall vest in the assignee or his legal representative all the right and title of the original purchaser. The clerk shall be entitled to a fee of two dollars for the entry thereof.

Any person desiring to pay any subsequent taxes on lands for which he holds the certificate of sale described in section fourteen or fifteen of this article shall produce such certificate to the sheriff, who shall endorse the amount of such subsequent taxes and the date of payment thereof in his records upon the payment to the sheriff of a fee therefor in the amount of two dollars. He shall also present such certificate to the clerk of the county commission, who shall enter the amount of such tax in his record of delinquent lands upon the payment to the clerk of a fee therefor in the amount of two dollars.

Whenever any tax lien on any real estate has been sold at a tax sale to an individual purchaser, and the tax on such real estate for the year of the sale or for any subsequent year have become delinquent, the sheriff shall include the real estate in the delinquent lists of the proper year and shall sell any subsequent tax liens therefor on the whole or a part thereof for taxes as if the former sale had not occurred. The purchaser at the first sale may, however, prevent the second sale by paying the amount due, or he may redeem from the second sale. If the purchaser bought the lien upon only a part of the land at the first sale, he may prevent a second sale thereof by paying the proportionate part of the taxes assessed against the whole which are chargeable to the part purchased.

(a) No lien upon real property conveyed by a tax certificate of sale issued by a sheriff on account of any delinquent property taxes shall remain a lien thereon for a period longer than eighteen months after the original issuance thereof.

Whenever the provisions of section nineteen of this article have been complied with, the clerk of the county commission shall thereupon prepare a notice in form or effect as follows:

As soon as the clerk has prepared the notice provided for in section twenty-one of this article, he shall cause it to be served upon all persons named on the list generated by the purchaser pursuant to the provisions of section nineteen of this article.

(a) Upon payment of the sum necessary to redeem, the clerk shall promptly notify the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, by mail of the redemption, deliver to the sheriff the redemption money paid, and note the fact of redemption on his record of delinquent lands. The notice by mail shall advise that upon the request of the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, the sheriff shall pay to the purchaser the sums described in section twenty-five of this article.

(a) Upon payment of the sum necessary to redeem, the clerk shall execute a certificate of redemption in duplicate, which certificate shall specify the real estate redeemed, or the part thereof or the interest therein, as the case may be, together with any changes in respect thereto which were made in the landbook and in the record of delinquent lands; shall specify the year or years for which payment was made; and shall state that it is a receipt for the money paid and a release of the tax lien on the real estate redeemed. The original certificate shall be retained in the files in the clerk's office and one copy shall be delivered to the person redeeming. The clerk shall make any necessary changes in his record of delinquent lands and shall note the fact of redemption on such record, and shall record the certificate in a separate volume provided for the purpose.

If the real estate described in the notice is not redeemed within the time specified therein, but in no event prior to the first day of April of the second year following the sheriff's sale, the person entitled thereto shall make and deliver to the clerk of the county commission at any time thereafter, subject to the provisions of section eighteen of this article, a quitclaim deed for such real estate in form or effect as follows:

If the clerk of the county commission fails or refuses to prepare and serve the notice to redeem as required in sections twenty-one and twenty-two of this article, the person requesting the notice may, at any time within two weeks after discovery of such failure or refusal, but in no event later than sixty days following the date the person requested that notice be prepared and served, apply by petition to the circuit court of the county for an order compelling the clerk to prepare and serve the notice or appointing a commissioner to do so. If the person requesting the notice fails to make such application within the time allowed, he shall lose his right to the notice, but his rights against the clerk under the provisions of section sixty-seven of this article shall not be affected. Notice given pursuant to an order of the court or judge shall be as valid for all purposes as if given within the time required by section twenty-two of this article.

Whenever one purchaser at the tax sale has purchased tax liens on two or more pieces of real estate, or undivided interests therein, charged with taxes for the same year, or years, he, his heirs or assigns may request the clerk of the county commission to execute a separate deed for each piece of real estate, or undivided interest therein, or separate deeds for some and one deed for the remainder, or one deed for all, as he or they may prefer. Every deed for two or more pieces of real estate, or undivided interests therein, shall describe each piece of real estate and each undivided interest separately.

(a) Whenever the purchaser of any tax lien on any real estate sold at a tax sale, his heirs or assigns shall have obtained a deed for such real estate from the clerk of the county commission or from a commissioner appointed to make the deed, he or they shall thereby acquire all such right, title and interest, in and to the real estate, as was, at the time of the execution and delivery of the deed, vested in or held by any person who was entitled to redeem, unless such person is one who, being required by law to have his interest separately assessed and taxed, has done so and has paid all the taxes due thereon, or unless the rights of such person are expressly saved by the provisions of section six of this article or section two, three, four or six, article four of this chapter.

No irregularity, error or mistake in respect to any step in the procedure leading up to and including delivery of the tax deed by the clerk shall invalidate the title acquired by the purchaser unless such irregularity, error or mistake is, by the provisions of section six of this article or section two, three, four or six, article four of this chapter, expressly made ground for instituting a suit to set aside the sale or the deed.

(a) The sheriff shall keep in a separate fund the proceeds of all redemptions and sales paid to him under the provisions of this chapter, except for those proceeds for which a separate fund is directed by the provisions of section sixty-four of this article. Out of the total proceeds of each sale or redemption he shall in the order of priority stated below credit the following amounts, for payment as hereinafter provided: (1) To the general county fund, such part as represents costs paid out of such fund for publishing the sheriff's delinquent and sales list and all other costs incurred by the sheriff pursuant to the provisions of this article; (2) surplus proceeds from the sale of tax liens on delinquent lands shall be held by the sheriff for the periods provided for in section ten of this article, and if no application is made within the time therein specified, such surplus shall be distributed by the sheriff in the manner provided by law for the distribution of property taxes collected by him; and (3) the balance, if any, of the proceeds of the lands included in each suit shall be prorated among the various taxing units on the basis of the total amount of taxes due them in respect to the lands that were sold or redeemed. The amounts so determined shall be credited as follows, for payment as hereinafter provided: (1) To the auditor, such part as represents state taxes and interest; and (2) to the fund kept by the sheriff for each local taxing unit, such part as represents taxes and interest payable to such unit.

The state auditor shall ex officio be state commissioner of delinquent and nonentered lands. The term "auditor" whenever used in this chapter in connection with delinquent, nonentered, escheated or waste and unappropriated lands, shall be construed to refer to the auditor in his capacity as state commissioner of delinquent and nonentered lands.

The auditor shall appoint for each county in the state a deputy commissioner of delinquent and nonentered lands. Persons serving in that capacity when this article takes effect shall continue to serve, subject to the provisions of this article. The auditor shall make new appointments from time to time thereafter whenever vacancies occur, or when in the auditor's judgment it is deemed advisable. The auditor may promulgate rules respecting the tenure of deputy commissioners. In the absence of such rules, the deputy commissioner for each county shall, so long as he satisfies the requirements of this section in respect to professional qualifications and bonding, continue to act without reappointment until the auditor designates his successor.

The auditor shall prepare and keep in his office a permanent record of all delinquent, nonentered, escheated and waste and unappropriated lands. The record shall as to every tract or lot listed set forth the information available as to quantity, local description, and, except in the case of waste and unappropriated lands, the name of the former owner and the respective dates of nonentry, or delinquency and certification to the auditor, or escheat, as the case may be. The record shall be prima facie evidence of all matters required by this section to be set forth therein, including the correctness of the description of lands as nonentered, delinquent, escheated or waste and unappropriated.

(a) The auditor shall establish a special operating fund for the land department in his office. He shall pay into such fund all redemption fees, all publication or other charges collected by him, if such charges were paid by or were payable to him, the unclaimed surplus proceeds received by him from the sale of delinquent and other lands pursuant to this article, and all payments made to him under the provisions of sections sixty-four and sixty-five of this article, except such part thereof as represents state taxes and interest. All payments so excepted shall be credited by the auditor to the general school fund or other proper state fund.

(a) The owner of any real estate certified to the auditor pursuant to section eight of this article, or of any nonentered real estate subject to the authority of the auditor pursuant to section thirty-seven of this article, or any other person who was entitled to pay the taxes thereon, may redeem such real estate from the auditor at any time prior to the certification of such real estate to the deputy commissioner as provided in section forty-four of this article. Thereafter such real estate shall be subject to disposition pursuant to section forty-four of this article, and subsequent sections.

(a) Upon payment of the sum necessary to redeem, the auditor shall execute a certificate of redemption in triplicate, which certificate shall specify the real estate redeemed, or the interest therein, as the case may be, together with any changes in respect thereto which were made in the land book and in the record of delinquent lands, shall specify the year or years for which payment was made, and shall state that it is a receipt for the money paid and a release of the state's lien against the real estate redeemed. The original certificate shall be retained in the files in the auditor's office, one copy shall be delivered to the person redeeming and the second copy shall be mailed by the auditor to the clerk of the county commission of the county in which the real estate is situated, who, after making any necessary changes in his record of delinquent lands, shall note the fact of redemption on such record, and shall record the certificate in a separate volume provided for the purpose.

The auditor, if he so elects, may at any time compel redemption of any nonentered lands or real estate certified to the auditor by the sheriff. In order to collect from the owner of such real estate an amount sufficient for redemption, he may use any of the methods provided in article two of this chapter for collection of taxes by the sheriff.

(a) The auditor shall report monthly to the sheriff, the assessor and the clerk of the county commission of each county all land in such county which was redeemed in his office during the preceding month. The assessor shall enter the fact of such redemption in the land book in his office. The clerk shall file and index the report in a separate volume provided for the purpose.

All lands for which no person present at the sheriff's sale, held pursuant to section five of this article, has bid the total amount of taxes, interest and charges due, and which were subsequently certified to the auditor pursuant to section eight of this article, and which have not been redeemed from the auditor within eighteen months after such certification, together with all nonentered lands, all escheated lands and all waste and unappropriated lands, shall be subject to sale by the deputy commissioner of delinquent and nonentered lands as further provided in this article. References in this chapter to the sale or purchase of certified or nonentered lands by or from the deputy commissioner shall be construed as the sale or purchase of the tax lien or liens thereon.

(a) Whenever an assessor, sheriff, clerk of the county commission or county surveyor learns of the existence within the county of any nonentered land, he shall promptly report that fact to the auditor, together with his information relating thereto. The assessor, as escheator, shall likewise report all lands which escheat to the state.

On or after the first day of May and on or before the first day of October of each year, the auditor shall certify to the deputy commissioner of each county a list of all lands in the county subject to sale under this article. He shall note the fact of certification on the land record in his office. Upon completion of the list for certification, a charge of twenty-five dollars shall be added to the taxes, interest and charges already due on each tract listed, to cover the costs incurred by the auditor in the preparation of the list, and in the event of sale or redemption, the same shall be collected and paid into the operating fund provided for in this article.

(a) Each tract or lot certified to the deputy commissioner pursuant to the preceding section shall be sold by the deputy commissioner at public auction at the front door of the courthouse of the county to the highest bidder, for cash, between the hours of ten in the morning and four in the afternoon on any business working day within sixty days after the auditor has certified the lands to the deputy commissioner as required by the preceding section. No part or interest in any tract or lot subject to such sale, or any part thereof of interest therein, that is less than the entirety of such unredeemed tract, lot or interest, as the same is described and constituted as a unit or entity in said list, shall be offered for sale or sold at such sale. If the sale shall not be completed on the first day of the sale, it shall be continued from day to day between the same hours until all the land shall have been offered for sale.

Once a week for three consecutive weeks prior to the auction required in the preceding section, the deputy commissioner shall publish notice of the auction as a Class III-O legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county.

Any of the delinquent and nonentered lands certified to the deputy commissioner may be redeemed, prior to the auction, by the owner of such land or any other person entitled to pay the taxes thereon, by payment of the taxes, interest and charges due. The deputy commissioner shall give to the person redeeming a duplicate receipt, one of which shall be filed with the clerk of the county commission, who shall note the fact of such redemption on his record of delinquent lands. Any person redeeming the interest of another shall be subrogated to the lien of the state on such interest as provided in section nine, article one of this chapter.

(a) It shall be illegal for an owner, in whose name any real estate was certified to the auditor or was subjected to the authority of the auditor because of the nonentry thereof, or his heirs or assigns, or his or their agent, to purchase such real estate at sale provided in section forty-five or forty-eight of this article. No deputy commissioner, sheriff, clerk of the county commission or circuit court, assessor, nor deputy of any of them, shall directly or indirectly become the purchaser, or be interested in the purchase of any real estate at the sale. Any such person or officer so purchasing shall for each offense forfeit one thousand dollars, to be collected as other forfeitures are collected. The sale of any real estate, or the conveyance of such real estate by tax deed, to one of the persons or officers named in this section shall be voidable at the instance of any person having the right to redeem until such real estate reaches the hands of a bona fide purchaser.

Within fourteen days following the auction required by section forty-five of this article, and within fourteen days of any sale pursuant to section forty-eight of this article, the deputy commissioner must report such sales to the auditor. The report must include the year that the land was certified by the auditor for sale, the item number of the land on the list certifying the land for sale, the amount of taxes, interest and charges on such land at the time of the sale, the quantity of the land, the name and address of the purchaser and the purchase price. The report shall be filed in duplicate with the auditor. The auditor may prescribe the form of the report.

(a) Within thirty days following the approval of the sale by the auditor pursuant to section fifty-one of this article, the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, in order to secure a deed for the real estate purchased, shall: (1) Prepare a list of those to be served with notice to redeem and request the deputy commissioner to prepare and serve the notice as provided in sections fifty-four and fifty-five of this article; and (2) deposit, or offer to deposit, with the deputy commissioner a sum sufficient to cover the costs of preparing and serving the notice. For failure to meet these requirements, the purchaser shall lose all the benefits of his purchase.

Whenever the provisions of section fifty-two of this article have been complied with, the deputy commissioner shall thereupon prepare a notice in form or effect as follows:

(a) Upon payment of the sum necessary to redeem, the deputy commissioner shall promptly notify the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, by mail of the redemption and deliver to the sheriff the redemption money paid. The notice by mail shall advise that upon the request of the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, the sheriff shall pay to the purchaser the sums described in section fifty-eight of this article.

If the real estate described in the notice is not redeemed within the time specified therein, but in no event prior to the first day of the third month following the deputy commissioner's sale, the deputy commissioner shall, upon the request of the purchaser, make and deliver to the person entitled thereto a quitclaim deed for such real estate in form or effect as follows:

Whenever one purchaser at the tax sale has purchased two or more pieces of real estate, or undivided interests therein, charged with taxes for the same year, or years, he, his heirs or assigns, may request the deputy commissioner to execute a separate deed for each piece of real estate or undivided interest therein, or separate deeds for some and one deed for the remainder, or one deed for all, as he or they may prefer. Every deed for two or more pieces of real estate, or undivided interests therein, shall describe each piece of real estate and each undivided interest separately.

(a) Whenever the purchaser of any tax lien on any real estate sold at a tax sale, his heirs or assigns, shall have obtained a deed for such real estate from the deputy commissioner or from a commissioner appointed to make the deed, he or they shall thereby acquire all such right, title and interest, in and to the real estate, as was, at the time of the execution and delivery of the deed, vested in or held by any person who was entitled to redeem, unless such person is one who, being required by law to have his interest separately assessed and taxed, has done so and has paid all the taxes due thereon, or unless the rights of such person are expressly saved by the provisions of section forty-nine of this article or section two, three, four or six, article four of this chapter.

No irregularity, error or mistake in respect to any step in the procedure leading up to and including delivery of the tax deed by the deputy commissioner shall invalidate the title acquired by the purchaser unless such irregularity, error or mistake is, by the provisions of section forty-nine of this article or section two, three, four or six, article four of this chapter, expressly made ground for instituting a suit to set aside the sale or the deed.

(a) The sheriff shall receive all proceeds of sales held by the deputy commissioner pursuant to sections forty-five and forty-eight of this article, and all redemption money paid to the deputy commissioner pursuant to this article. All funds to be paid to the deputy commissioner pursuant to any provision of this article shall be paid by check or money order payable to the sheriff of the county. The deputy commissioner shall, immediately upon receipt of any such payment, turn such moneys over to the sheriff.

The former owner of any delinquent or nonentered lands sold pursuant to sections forty-five and forty-eight of this article, his heirs or assigns, shall be entitled to the surplus received from the sale over and above the taxes and interest charged or chargeable thereon including all costs of the sale, if his, or their claim be filed in the circuit court of the county in which the land is situated within two years after the date of confirmation of said sale. If no claim is filed with the court within the two years, then such surplus shall be paid by the sheriff to the auditor for credit to the general school fund.

As compensation for his services, the deputy commissioner shall be entitled to a fee of ten dollars for each item certified to him by the auditor pursuant to section forty-four of this article. In addition thereto he shall receive a commission of fifteen percent on each sale or redemption. Such commission on sales shall be based on sale price and on redemptions on the total taxes and interest due. Such compensation shall be paid as provided in this article.

If any officer mentioned in this article shall refuse to perform any duty required of him, he shall forfeit not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars for each such failure or refusal, unless a different penalty is imposed by the provisions of this article.

All lands which have been heretofore purchased by the state at a tax sale pursuant to the provisions of the former article three of this chapter and which have not been redeemed from the auditor or certified to the circuit court for sale as provided in the former article four of this chapter shall be reported by the auditor to the sheriff of the county in which the lands are situated for reentry on the landbooks. Such lands shall be reentered on the landbooks in the name of the person charged with taxes on the land at the time of purchase by the state, and charged with all unpaid taxes thereon, including those taxes which have accrued since such purchase by the state, and all costs charged to such lands arising from the tax sale and purchase by the state. Such lands shall then be subject to disposition pursuant to this article.

Any owner of real estate for which a tax lien was sold for nonpayment of taxes pursuant to the provisions of article three of this chapter, when all taxes thereon had in fact been paid before the sale, his heirs and assigns, or the person who paid the taxes, may, before the expiration of three years following the sale, institute a civil action to set aside the sale and to enjoin the proper official from taking any further steps in the procedure provided in this and the following article, or, if a deed has been delivered to the purchaser, before the expiration of three years following the delivery of the deed, institute a civil action to set aside the deed. If such action is instituted by or on behalf of the owner of an undivided interest which was included in a group assessment but which was separately redeemed as provided in section eighteen, article two of this chapter, the sale or the deed shall be set aside only insofar as it affects his interest.

(a) Whenever the clerk of the county commission has delivered a deed to the purchaser after the time specified in section twenty-seven of article three of this chapter, or, within that time, has delivered a deed to a purchaser who was not entitled thereto either because of his failure to meet the requirements of section nineteen of said article three, or because the property conveyed had been redeemed, the owner of such property, his heirs and assigns, or the person who redeemed the property, may, before the expiration of three years following the delivery of the deed, institute a civil action to set aside the deed. No deed shall be set aside under the provisions of this section, except in the case of redemption, until payment has been made or tendered to the purchaser, or his heirs or assigns, of the amount which would have been required for redemption, together with any taxes which have been paid on the property since delivery of the deed, with interest at the rate of twelve percent per annum.

(a) If any person entitled to be notified under the provisions of section twenty-two or fifty-five, article three of this chapter is not served with the notice as therein required, and does not have actual knowledge that such notice has been given to others in time to protect his interests by redeeming the property, he, his heirs and assigns, may, before the expiration of three years following the delivery of the deed, institute a civil action to set aside the deed. No deed shall be set aside under the provisions of this section until payment has been made or tendered to the purchaser, or his heirs or assigns, of the amount which would have been required for redemption, together with any taxes which have been paid on the property since delivery of the deed, with interest at the rate of twelve percent per annum.

Any civil action instituted under the provisions of section two, three or four of this article by a person other than the former owner, his heirs or assigns, must be brought on his or their behalf. Whenever the deed in such case is set aside, the decree shall be that all the right, title and interest of the former owner, his heirs or assigns, is revested in him or them.

In addition to and notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, any infant or mentally incapacitated person whose real estate was, during such disability, conveyed by tax deed pursuant to this chapter to an individual purchaser, may redeem such real estate by paying to the purchaser, or his heirs or assigns, before the expiration of one year after removal of the disability, but in no event more than twenty years after the deed was obtained, the amount of the purchase money, together with the necessary charges incurred in obtaining the deed, and any taxes paid on the property since the sale, with interest on such items at the rate of twelve percent per annum from the date each was paid. If such person was the owner of an undivided interest in the real estate sold, he may redeem such interest by paying that proportion of the purchase money, charges, taxes and interest chargeable to his interest; but after a deed has been delivered to the purchaser, he shall not have the right to redeem more than his own undivided interest. If improvements have been made on such real estate after the deed was obtained and before the offer to redeem as herein provided, the person redeeming shall pay to the purchaser, or his heirs or assigns, the value of the improvements at the time of such offer, after deducting therefrom the value of the use of such real estate without the improvements, from the date of the deed to the date of the offer. Upon payment or tender of payment, the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, shall, at the expense of the person redeeming, convey to him by quitclaim deed the real estate so redeemed.

Any surplus proceeds arising from the sale of escheated land may be applied for by the creditors of the decedent if application is made to the circuit court of the county in which the land is situated within one year after the auditor has confirmed the sale. Upon proper application to the court within such time such surplus may be applied to the satisfaction of the claims of creditors of the decedent who had a lien on the land at the time of his death, or who, being general creditors, have properly proved their claims against his estate and have been unable to obtain payment out of the personalty. In the disposition of such surplus, due preference shall be given to lien creditors. Any part of such surplus thereafter remaining shall be paid by the sheriff to the auditor for credit to the general school fund.