Senate Bill No. 689
(By Senators Kessler, Foster and Minard)
____________
[Introduced February 18, 2008; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §11A-3-6, §11A-3-8, §11A-3-9,
§11A-3-11, §11A-3-14, §11A-3-15, §11A-3-16, §11A-3-18,
§11A-3-19, §11A-3-20, §11A-3-21, §11A-3-22, §11A-3-23,
§11A-3-24, §11A-3-25, §11A-3-26, §11A-3-27, §11A-3-28,
§11A-3-30, §11A-3-31 and §11A-3-32 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to providing for the
State Auditor to fulfill requirements of tax liens on
properties sold to individuals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11A-3-6, §11A-3-8, §11A-3-9, §11A-3-11, §11A-3-14,
§11A-3-15, §11A-3-16, §11A-3-18, §11A-3-19, §11A-3-20, §11A-3-21,
§11A-3-22, §11A-3-23, §11A-3-24, §11A-3-25, §11A-3-26, §11A-3-27,
§11A-3-28, §11A-3-30, §11A-3-31 and §11A-3-32 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE
AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.
§
11A-3-6. Purchase by sheriff and clerk of county commission
prohibited; coowner free to purchase at tax sale.
(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
within the county in which they
are elected or are employed. 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.
(b) Any coowner, except a coparcener, in the absence of
satisfactory proof of a fiduciary relationship, shall be entitled
to acquire by tax purchase for his
or her own account the tax lien
on the interest of any, or all, of his
or her coowners in any real
estate, and to receive a tax deed conveying such interest without
being required to hold such tax lien or interest or interests under
any constructive trust. There shall be a prima facie presumption
against the existence of any such constructive trust.
(c) No State Auditor, nor deputy, 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.
§11A-3-8. Certification of sold and unsold property to the
Auditor.
(a) 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.
(b) If the highest bidder present at the sale provided in
section five of this article bids and pays at least the amount of
taxes and interest, and charges for which the tax lien on any real
estate is offered, the sheriff shall certify the real estate to the
State Auditor for disposition pursuant to section fourteen of this
article.
§11A-3-9. Sheriff's list of sales, suspensions, redemptions and
certifications; oath.
As soon as the sale provided for in section five of this
article has been completed, the sheriff shall prepare a list of all
tax liens on delinquent real estate purchased at the sale, or
suspended from sale, or redeemed before sale, or certified to the Auditor. The heading of the list shall be in form or effect as
follows:
List of sales of tax liens on real estate in the county of
, returned delinquent for nonpayment of taxes thereon for
the year (or years) (19) 20 , and sold in the month (or months)
of , (19)
20 , or suspended from sale, or redeemed
before sale, or certified to the Auditor.
The sheriff shall, at the foot of such list, subscribe an
oath, which shall be subscribed before and certified by some person
duly authorized to administer oaths, in form or effect as follows:
I, , sheriff (or deputy sheriff or collector) of
the county of , do swear that the above list contains
a true account of all the tax liens on real estate within my county
returned delinquent for nonpayment of taxes thereon for the year
(or years) (19)
20 , which were sold by me or which were
suspended from sale or redeemed before sale or certified to the
Auditor, and that I am not now, nor have I at any time been,
directly or indirectly interested in the purchase of any such tax
liens.
Except for the heading and the oath, the tax commissioner
State Auditor shall prescribe the form of the list.
§11A-3-11. Return of list of sales, suspensions and redemptions.
(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
or her
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
or her,
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
or her
office.
(b) Any sheriff who fails to prepare and return the list of
sales, suspensions, redemptions and certifications within the time
required by this section shall forfeit not less than fifty nor more
than five hundred dollars, for the benefit of the general school
fund, to be recovered by the Auditor or by any taxpayer of the
county on motion in a court of competent jurisdiction. Upon the
petition of any person interested, the sheriff may be compelled by
mandamus to make out and return such list, and the proceedings
thereon shall be at his
or her
cost.
§11A-3-14. Purchase by individual at tax sale; certificate of
sale.
(a) If 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 or her
a certificate of sale for the purchase money, retain the original
for their file and forward a copy to the State Auditor, except the
sheriff shall require payment of any subsequent taxes due at the
time of the sale before a certificate of sale is issued. The
heading of the certificate shall be:
Memorandum of tax lien on real estate sold in the county of
on this day of ,
(19)
20 ,
for the nonpayment of taxes charged thereon for the year (or years)
(19)
20 .
Except for the heading, the tax commissioner State Auditor
shall prescribe the form of the receipt.
(b) The certificate of sale shall describe the real estate
subject to the tax lien that was sold, the total amount of all
taxes, interest, penalties and costs paid for each lot or tract,
and the rate of interest to which the purchaser is entitled upon
redemption. The certificate shall also set forth columns for the
entry of subsequent years taxes paid and costs required by the
sheriff to be paid on the date of the sale, and for the entry of
subsequent taxes and costs paid. For each certificate delivered,
the purchaser shall pay a fee of ten dollars, and that amount shall
be included in the costs described in the certificate.
§11A-3-15. Certificate of sale assignable.
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
or her
legal representative all the right and title
of the original purchaser. The clerk shall be entitled to a fee of
two ten dollars for the entry thereof.
§11A-3-16. Subsequent tax payments by purchaser.
Any person who has paid any subsequent taxes, other than the
subsequent taxes paid on the date of the sale as provided for in
section fourteen of this article, on lands for which he or she
holds the certificate of sale described in section fourteen or
fifteen of this article shall produce the certificate and copies of
paid tax receipts to the clerk of the county commission State
Auditor, who shall endorse the amount of the subsequent taxes and
the date of payment of the taxes in his or her records upon the
payment to the clerk State Auditor of a fee for the endorsement in
the amount of two ten dollars.
§11A-3-18. Limitations on tax certificates.
(a) No lien upon real property evidenced by a tax certificate
of sale issued by a sheriff on account of any delinquent property
taxes may remain a lien thereon for a period longer than eighteen
months after the original issuance thereof.
(b) All rights of a purchaser shall be deemed forfeited and
expired and no tax deed is to be issued on any tax sale evidenced
by a tax certificate of sale where the certificate has ceased to be a lien pursuant to the provisions of this section and application
for the tax deed, pursuant to the provisions of section
twenty-seven of this article, is not pending at the time of the
expiration of the limitation period provided for in this section.
(c) Whenever a lien evidenced by a tax certificate of sale has
expired by reason of the provisions of this section, the county
clerk State Auditor shall immediately issue and record a
certificate of cancellation describing the real estate included in
the certificate of purchase or tax certificate and giving the date
of cancellation and the clerk shall also make proper entries in his
or her records. The clerk State Auditor shall also present a copy
of every such certificate of cancellation to the sheriff who shall
enter the same in the sheriff's records and the certificate and the
record are prima facie evidence of the cancellation of the
certificate of sale and of the release of the lien of the
certificate on the lands therein described. Failure to record the
certificate of cancellation does not extend the lien evidenced by
the certificate of sale. The sheriff and county clerk State
Auditor are not entitled to any fees for the issuing of the
certificate of cancellation nor for the entries in their books made
under the provisions of this subsection.
§11A-3-19. What purchaser must do before he or she can secure
deed.
(a) At any time after the thirty-first day of October of the year following the sheriff's sale, and on or before the
thirty-first day of December of the same year, the purchaser, his
or her heirs or assigns, in order to secure a deed for the real
estate subject to the tax lien or liens purchased, shall: (1)
Prepare a list of those to be served with notice to redeem and
request the clerk State Auditor to prepare and serve the notice as
provided in sections twenty-one and twenty-two of this article; (2)
provide the clerk State Auditor with a list of any additional
expenses incurred after the first day of January of the year
following the sheriff's sale for the preparation of the list of
those to be served with notice to redeem including proof of the
additional expenses in the form of receipts or other evidence of
reasonable legal expenses incurred for the services of any attorney
who has performed an examination of the title to the real estate
and rendered a written opinion and certification thereon; (3)
deposit, or offer to deposit, with the clerk State Auditor a sum
sufficient to cover the costs of preparing and serving the notice;
and (4) present the purchaser's certificate of sale, or order of
the county commission where the certificate has been lost or
wrongfully withheld from the owner, to the clerk of the county
commission State Auditor. For failure to meet these requirements,
the purchaser shall lose all the benefits of his or her purchase.
(b) If the person requesting preparation and service of the
notice is an assignee of the purchaser, he or she shall, at the time of the request, file with the clerk State Auditor a written
assignment to him or her of the purchaser's rights, executed,
acknowledged and certified in the manner required to make a valid
deed.
(c) Whenever any certificate given by the sheriff for a tax
lien on any land, or interest in the land sold for delinquent
taxes, or any assignment of the lien is lost or wrongfully withheld
from the rightful owner of the land and the land or interest has
not been redeemed, the county commission may receive evidence of
the loss or wrongful detention and, upon satisfactory proof of that
fact, may cause a certificate of the proof and finding, properly
attested by the county clerk under the seal of the county State
Auditor, to be delivered to the rightful claimant, and a record of
the certificate shall be duly made by the county clerk in the
recorded proceedings of the commission.
§11A-3-20. Refund to purchaser of payment made at sheriff's sale
where property is subject of an erroneous assessment
or is otherwise nonexistent.
If, by the thirty-first day of December of the year following
payment of the amount bid at a sheriff's sale, the purchaser
discovers that the lien purchased at that sale is the subject of an
erroneous assessment or is otherwise nonexistent, the purchaser
shall submit the abstract or certificate of an attorney at law that
the property is the subject of an erroneous assessment or is otherwise nonexistent. Upon receipt of the abstract or
certificate, the sheriff shall cause the moneys so paid to be
refunded. Upon refund, the sheriff shall inform the assessor and
the State Auditor of the erroneous assessment for the purpose of
having the assessor correct the error. For failure to meet this
requirement, the purchaser shall lose all benefits of his or her
purchase.
§11A-3-21. Notice to redeem.
Whenever the provisions of section nineteen of this article
have been complied with, the clerk of the county commission State
Auditor shall prepare a notice in form or effect as follows:
To ___________________________________.
You will take notice that _______________, the purchaser (or
_____________, the assignee, heir or devisee of _______________,
the purchaser) of the tax lien(s) on the following real estate,
__________________, (here describe the real estate for which the
tax lien(s) thereon were sold) located in ___________________,
(here name the city, town or village in which the real estate is
situated or, if not within a city, town or village, give the
district and a general description) which was returned delinquent
in the name of ________________, and for which the tax lien(s)
thereon was sold by the sheriff of ____________________ County at
the sale for delinquent taxes made on the _______________ day of
_____________, 19 20 , has requested that you be notified that a deed for such real estate will be made to him or her on or after
the first day of April, 19 20 , as provided by law, unless
before that day you redeem such real estate. The amount you will
have to pay to redeem on the last day, March thirty-first, will be
as follows:
Amount equal to the taxes, interest, and charges due on the
date of sale, with interest to March 31, 19 20 , ...... $_______
Amount of subsequent years taxes paid on the property, since
the sale, with interest to March 31, 19 20 , ........ $_________
Amount paid for title examination and preparation of list of
those to be served, and for preparation and service of the notice
with interest from January 1, 19 20 , (insert year) following
the sheriff's sale to March 31, 19 20 , $__________
Amount paid for other statutory costs (describe)
_____________________ $___________
Total ................. $_____________
You may redeem at any time before March thirty-first, nineteen
hundred two thousand _______________, by paying the above total
less any unearned interest.
Given under my hand this ______ day of __________,19 20 .
_________________________________________
Clerk of the county commission
of ___________________ County,
State of West Virginia
The clerk State Auditor for his or her service in preparing
the notice shall receive a fee of five ten dollars for the original
and one dollar two dollars for each copy required. Any additional
costs which must be expended for publication, or service of the
notice in the manner provided for serving process commencing a
civil action, or for service of process by certified mail, shall be
charged by the clerk State Auditor. All costs provided by this
section shall be included as redemption costs and included in the
notice described in this section.
§11A-3-22. Service of notice.
As soon as the clerk State Auditor has prepared the notice
provided for in section twenty-one of this article, he or she 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.
The notice shall be served upon all such persons residing or
found in the state in the manner provided for serving process
commencing a civil action or by certified mail, return receipt
requested. The notice shall be served on or before the thirtieth
day following the request for such notice.
If any person entitled to notice is a nonresident of this
state, whose address is known to the purchaser, he or she shall be
served at such address by certified mail, return receipt requested.
If the address of any person entitled to notice, whether a resident or nonresident of this state, is unknown to the purchaser
and cannot be discovered by due diligence on the part of the
purchaser, the notice shall be served by publication as a Class
III-0 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 in which such real
estate is located. If service by publication is necessary,
publication shall be commenced when personal service is required as
set forth above, and a copy of the notice shall at the same time be
sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known
address of the person to be served. The return of service of such
notice and the affidavit of publication, if any, shall be in the
manner provided for process generally and shall be filed and
preserved by the clerk State Auditor in his or her office, together
with any return receipts for notices sent by certified mail.
§11A-3-23. Redemption from purchase; receipt; list of redemptions;
lien; lien of person redeeming interest of another;
record.
(a) After the sale of any tax lien on any real estate pursuant
to section five of this article, the owner of, or any other person
who was entitled to pay the taxes on, any real estate for which a
tax lien thereon was purchased by an individual may redeem at any
time before a tax deed is issued for the real estate. In order to
redeem, he or she shall pay to the clerk of the county commission State Auditor the following amounts: (1) An amount equal to the
taxes, interest and charges due on the date of the sale, with
interest at the rate of one percent per month from the date of
sale; (2) all other taxes which have since been paid by the
purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns, with interest at the rate
of one percent per month from the date of payment; (3) any
additional expenses incurred from the first day of January of the
year following the sheriff's sale to the date of redemption for the
preparation of the list of those to be served with notice to redeem
and any title examination incident thereto, with interest at the
rate of one percent per month from the date of payment for
reasonable legal expenses incurred for the services of an attorney
who has performed an examination of the title to the real estate
and rendered a written opinion and certification thereon:
Provided, That the amount he or she shall be required to pay,
excluding the interest, for the expenses incurred for the
preparation of the list of those to be served with notice to redeem
required by section nineteen of this article and any title
examination performed, shall not exceed two hundred dollars; and
(4) all additional statutory costs paid by the purchaser. Where
the clerk State Auditor has not received from the purchaser
satisfactory proof of the expenses incurred in preparing the notice
to redeem, and any examination of title incident thereto, in the
form of receipts or other evidence of legal expenses incurred as provided in section nineteen of this article, the person redeeming
shall pay the clerk State Auditor the sum of two hundred dollars
plus interest at the rate of one percent per month from the first
day of January of the year following the sheriff's sale for
disposition by the sheriff pursuant to the provisions of sections
ten, twenty-four, twenty-five and thirty-two of this article.
The person redeeming shall be given a receipt for the payment.
(b) Any person who, by reason of the fact that no provision is
made for partial redemption of the tax lien on real estate
purchased by an individual, is compelled in order to protect
himself or herself to redeem the tax lien on all of the real estate
when it belongs, in whole or in part, to some other person, shall
have a lien on the interest of that other person for the amount
paid to redeem the interest. He or she shall lose his or her right
to the lien, however, unless within thirty days after payment he or
she files with the clerk of the county commission his or her claim
in writing against the owner of the interest, together with the
receipt provided for in this section. The clerk shall docket the
claim on the judgment lien docket in his or her office and properly
index the claim. The lien may be enforced as other judgment liens
are enforced.
§11A-3-24. Notice of redemption to purchaser; moneys received by
sheriff.
(a) Upon payment of the sum necessary to redeem, the clerk State Auditor shall deliver to the sheriff the redemption money
paid and the name and address of the purchaser, his or her heirs
and assigns. The clerk State Auditor shall also note the fact of
redemption on his or her record of delinquent lands.
(b) Of the redemption money received by the sheriff pursuant
to this section, the sheriff shall deposit into the sale of tax
lien surplus fund provided by section ten of this article an amount
equal to 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, the amount of the
subsequent years taxes paid the day of or after the sheriff's sale,
plus interest at the rate of one percent per month thereon from the
date of payment to the date of redemption, the amount of any
additional expenses incurred after the first day of January of the
year following the sheriff's sale for the preparation of the list
of those to be served with notice to redeem and any examination of
title performed and certified pursuant to the provisions of section
nineteen of this article, plus interest at a rate of one percent
per month from the date of payment to the date of redemption. In
cases where the clerk State Auditor has not received from the
purchaser satisfactory proof of additional expenses incurred after
the first day of January of the year following the sheriff's sale
as provided in section twenty-three of this article, the sheriff
shall deposit the money received in the sale of tax lien surplus fund provided by section ten of this article.
§11A-3-25. Distribution of surplus to purchaser.
(a) Where the land has been redeemed in the manner set forth
in section twenty-three of this article, and the clerk State
Auditor has delivered the redemption money to the sheriff pursuant
to section twenty-four of this article, the sheriff shall, upon
delivery of the sum necessary to redeem, promptly notify the
purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns, by mail, of the fact of the
redemption and pay to the purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns
the following amounts: (1) From the sale of tax lien surplus fund
provided by section ten of this article: (A) The surplus of money
paid in excess of the amount of the taxes, interest and charges due
and paid to the sheriff at the sale; and (B) 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; (2) all other taxes on the land which have
since been paid by the purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns, with
interest at the rate of one percent per month from the date of
payment to the date of redemption; (3) any additional expenses that
may have been incurred from the first day of January of the year
following the sheriff's sale to the date of redemption in preparing
the list of those to be served with notice to redeem and any title
examination performed in accordance with section nineteen of this
article with interest at the rate of one percent per month from the date of payment, but the amount which shall be paid, excluding the
interest, for the expenses incurred for the preparation of the list
of those to be served with notice to redeem required by section
nineteen of this article, and any title examination shall not
exceed two hundred dollars; and (4) all additional statutory costs
paid by the purchaser.
(b) (1) The notice shall include:
(A) A copy of the redemption certificate issued by the county
clerk State Auditor;
(B) An itemized statement of the redemption money to which the
purchaser is entitled pursuant to the provisions of this section;
and
(C) Where, at the time of the redemption, the clerk State
Auditor has not received from the purchaser satisfactory proof of
the expenses incurred in preparing the list of those to be served
with notice to redeem and any title examination performed in
accordance with section nineteen of this article, the clerk State
Auditor shall also include instructions to the purchaser as to how
these expenses may be claimed.
(2) Subject to the limitations of this section, the purchaser
is entitled to recover any expenses incurred in preparing the list
of those to be served with notice to redeem and any title
examination incident thereto from the first day of January of the
year following the sheriff's sale to the date of the sale to the date of the redemption.
(c) Where, pursuant to section twenty-three of this article,
the clerk State Auditor has not received from the purchaser
satisfactory proof of the expenses incurred in preparing the list
of those to be served with notice to redeem, and any title
examination incident thereto, in the form of receipts or other
evidence and therefore received from the purchaser as required by
that section and delivered to the sheriff the sum of two hundred
dollars plus interest at the rate of one percent per month from the
first day of January of the year following the sheriff's sale to
the date of the sale to the date of redemption, and the sheriff has
not received from the purchaser satisfactory proof of the expenses
within thirty days from the date of notification, the sheriff shall
refund the amount to the person redeeming and the purchaser is
barred from any claim. Where, pursuant to that section, the clerk
State Auditor has received from the purchaser and therefore
delivered to the sheriff the sum of two hundred dollars plus
interest at the rate of one percent per month from the first day of
January of the year following the sheriff's sale to the date of the
sale to the date of redemption, and the purchaser provides the
sheriff within thirty days from the date of notification
satisfactory proof of the expenses, and the amount of the expenses
is less than the amount paid by the person redeeming, the sheriff
shall refund the difference to the person redeeming.
§11A-3-26. Certificate of redemption issued by State Auditor;
recordation; disposition of redemption money.
(a) Upon payment of the sum necessary to redeem, the clerk
State Auditor shall execute a certificate of redemption in
duplicate quadruple, 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 State
Auditor's office and one copy shall be delivered to the person
redeeming. The clerk shall make any necessary changes in his
or
her
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.
The fee for issuing the certificate of redemption shall be
thirty-five ten dollars and seven and one-half percent of the total
taxes, interest and charges due, of which ten dollars of that
amount shall be deposited in the courthouse facilities improvement
fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter
twenty-nine of this code.
(b) All certificates of redemption issued by the clerk in each year shall be numbered consecutively and shall be filed by with the
clerk of the county commission. in numerical order Reference to
the year and number of the certificate shall be included in the
notation of redemption required herein. No fee shall be charged by
the clerk of the county commission for any recordation, filing or
notation required by this section.
§11A-3-27. Deed to purchaser; record.
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 thereafter, but prior to the
expiration of the lien evidenced by a tax certificate of sale
issued by a sheriff for such real estate as provided in section
eighteen of this article, the State Auditor or his or her deputy
shall upon request of the purchaser, make and deliver to the clerk
of the county commission State Auditor subject to the provisions of
section eighteen of this article, a quitclaim deed for the real
estate in form or effect as follows:
This deed made this ________ day of ____________, 19 20 ,
by and between _________________, clerk of the county commission
the State Auditor of ______________________ County, West Virginia,
(or by and between _______________, a commissioner appointed by the
circuit court of ______________ County, West Virginia) grantor, and
_____________, purchaser, (or __________________, heir, devisee or assignee of _______________________, purchaser), grantee,
witnesseth, that:
Whereas, In pursuance of the statutes in such case made and
provided, _________________, Sheriff of ____________ County, (or
______________, deputy for ______________, Sheriff of ___________
County), (or ______________, collector of ______________ County),
did, in the month of ____________, in the year 19 20 , sell the
tax lien(s) on real estate, hereinafter mentioned and described,
for the taxes delinquent thereon for the year (or years) 19 20 ,
and ______________, (here insert name of purchaser) for the sum of
$___________, that being the amount of purchase money paid to the
sheriff, did become the purchaser of the tax lien(s) on such real
estate (or on ________ acres, part of the tract or land, or on an
undivided _____________ interest in such real estate) which was
returned delinquent in the name of ___________________; and
Whereas, The clerk of the county commission State Auditor has
caused the notice to redeem to be served on all persons required by
law to be served therewith; and
Whereas, The tax lien(s) on the real estate so purchased has
not been redeemed in the manner provided by law and the time for
redemption set in such notice has expired;
Now, therefore, the grantor, for and in consideration of the
premises and in pursuance of the statutes, doth grant unto
______________, grantee, his or her heirs and assigns forever, the real estate on which the tax lien(s) so purchased existed, situate
in the county of _____________________, bounded and described as
follows: ______________________________
Witness the following signature: __________________________
Clerk of the county commission of ___________________ County.
Except when ordered to do so, as provided in section
twenty-eight of this article, no clerk of the county commission the
State Auditor may not execute and deliver such a deed more than
thirty sixty days after the person entitled to the deed delivers
the same and requests the execution thereof. Upon the clerk's
determination that the deed presented substantially complies with
the requirements of this section, the clerk shall execute the deed
and acknowledge the same, record the deed in the clerk's office and
deliver the original thereof to the purchaser.
For the execution of the deed and for all the recording
required by this section, a fee of seven dollars and fifty cents
fifty dollars and the recording expenses shall be charged, to be
paid by the grantee upon delivery of the deed. The deed, when duly
acknowledged or proven, shall be recorded by the clerk of the
county commission State Auditor in the deed book in the clerk's
office, together with assignment from the purchaser, if one was
made, the notice to redeem, the return of service of the notice,
the affidavit of publication, if the notice was served by
publication, and any return receipts for notices sent by certified mail. The State Auditor shall appoint employees of his or her
office to act as his or her designee to effect the purpose of this
section.
§11A-3-28. Compelling service of notice or execution of deed.
If the clerk of the county commission State Auditor 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 State Auditor 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 or she shall lose his or her right to the
notice, but his or her rights against the clerk State Auditor 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.
If the clerk State Auditor fails or refuses to execute the
deed as required in section twenty-seven of this article, the
person requesting the deed may, at any time after such failure or
refusal, but not more than six months after his or her right to the deed accrued, apply by petition to the circuit court of the county
for an order compelling the clerk State Auditor to execute the deed
or appointing a commissioner to do so. If the person requesting
the deed fails to make such application within the time allowed, he
or she shall lose his or her right to the deed, but his or her
rights against the clerk State Auditor under the provisions of
section sixty-seven of this article shall not be affected. Any
deed executed pursuant to an order of the court or judge shall have
the same force and effect as if executed and delivered by the clerk
State Auditor within the time specified in the preceding section.
Ten days' written notice of every such application must be
given to the clerk State Auditor. If, upon the hearing of such
application, the court or judge is of the opinion that the
applicant is not entitled to the notice or deed requested, the
petition shall be dismissed at his or her costs; but if the court
or judge is of the opinion that he or she is entitled to such
notice or deed, then, upon his or her deposit with the clerk of the
circuit court of a sum sufficient to cover the costs of preparing
and serving the notice, unless such a deposit has already been made
with the clerk of the county commission State Auditor, an order
shall be made by the court or judge directing the clerk State
Auditor to prepare and serve the notice or execute the deed, or
appointing a commissioner for the purpose, as the court or judge
shall determine. If it appears to the court or judge that the failure or refusal of the clerk State Auditor was without
reasonable cause, judgment shall be given against him or her for
the costs of the proceedings; otherwise the costs shall be paid by
the applicant.
Any commissioner appointed under the provisions of this
section shall be subject to the same liabilities as are provided
for the clerk State Auditor. For the preparation of the notice to
redeem, he or she shall be entitled to the same fee as is provided
for the clerk State Auditor. For the execution of the deed, he or
she shall also be entitled to a fee of seven dollars and fifty
cents fifty dollars and the recording and transfer tax expenses, to
be paid by the grantee upon delivery of the deed.
§11A-3-30. Title acquired by individual purchaser; action to
quiet title.
(a) Whenever the purchaser of any tax lien on any real estate
sold at a tax sale, his
or her
heirs or assigns shall have obtained
a deed for such real estate from the clerk of the county commission
State Auditor or from a commissioner appointed to make the deed, he
or she
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
or her
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.
The tax deed shall be conclusive evidence of the acquisition
of such title. The title so acquired shall relate back to July
first of the year in which the taxes, for nonpayment of which the
tax lien on the real estate was sold, were assessed.
(b) Any individual purchaser to whom a tax deed has been
issued may institute and prosecute actions to quiet title in any
such real estate conveyed thereby. Such action may be maintained
for all or any one or more of the lots or tracts conveyed.
§11A-3-31. Effect of irregularity on title acquired by purchaser.
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 State Auditor 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.
§11A-3-32. Sheriff to keep proceeds in separate accounts;
disposition.
(a) The sheriff shall keep in a separate fund the proceeds of
all redemptions and sales paid to him
or her
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
or she
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
or her;
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.
(b) All amounts which under the provisions of this section
were so credited by the sheriff to the Auditor shall be paid to him
or her
semiannually; and those credited to the various local taxing units shall be transferred semiannually by the sheriff to the fund
kept by him
or her
for each such taxing unit.
(c) The tax commissioner, in cooperation with the land
department in the Auditor's office State Auditor shall prescribe
the form of the records to be kept by the sheriff for the purposes
of this section, and the method to be used by him
or her
in making
the necessary pro rata distributions.
________
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow the State Auditor
to fulfill the requirements of tax liens on these properties sold
to individuals.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)