SB-0671, As Passed Senate, December 21, 2018

HOUSE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 671

     A bill to amend 1945 PA 200, entitled

"An act to define a marketable record title to an interest in land;

to require the filing of notices of claim of interest in such land

in certain cases within a definite period of time and to require

the recording thereof; to make invalid and of no force or effect

all claims with respect to the land affected thereby where no such

notices of claim of interest are filed within the required period;

to provide for certain penalties for filing slanderous notices of

claim of interest, and to provide certain exceptions to the

applicability and operation thereof,"

by amending sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (MCL 565.101, 565.102,

565.103, 565.104, and 565.105), sections 1, 2, and 3 as amended by

1997 PA 154; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

     Sec. 1. Any person, having that has the legal capacity to own

land in this state, who that has an unbroken chain of title of

record to any interest in land for 20 years for mineral interests

and 40 years for other interests, shall is at the end of the

applicable period be considered to have a marketable record title

to that interest, subject only to claims to that interest and

defects of title as are not extinguished or barred by application

of this act and subject also to any interests and defects as are

inherent in the provisions and limitations contained in the

muniments of which the chain of record title is formed and which

have been that are recorded within 3 2 years after the effective

date of the amendatory act that added section 1a 2(2) or during the

20-year period for mineral interests and the 40-year period for

other interests. However, a person shall is not be considered to

have a marketable record title by reason of this act , if the land

in which the interest exists is in the hostile possession of

another.

     Sec. 2. (1) A person is considered to have an unbroken chain

of title to an interest in land as provided in section 1 when if

the official public records disclose either of the following:

     (a) A conveyance or other title transaction not less than 20

years in the past for mineral interests and 40 years for other

interests, which conveyance or other title transaction purports to

create the interest in that person, with nothing appearing of

record purporting to divest that person of the purported interest.

     (b) A conveyance or other title transaction not less than 20

years in the past for mineral interests and 40 years for other

interests, which conveyance or other title transaction purports to

create the interest in some other person and other conveyances or

title transactions of record by which the purported interest has

become vested in the person first referred to in this section, with

nothing appearing of record purporting to divest the person first

referred to in this section of the purported interest.

     (2) For purposes of this section, except as to mineral

interests, a conveyance or other title transaction in the chain of

title purports to divest an interest in the property only if it

creates the divestment or if it specifically refers by liber and

page or other county-assigned unique identifying number to a

previously recorded conveyance or other title transaction that

created the divestment.

     Sec. 3. (1) Marketable title shall be is held by a person and

shall be is taken by his or her successors in interest free and

clear of any and all interests, claims, and charges whatsoever the

existence of which depends in whole or in part upon on any act,

transaction, event, or omission that occurred prior to before the

20-year period for mineral interests, and the 40-year period for

other interests, and all such interests, claims, and charges are

hereby declared to be null and void and of no effect at law or in

equity. However, an interest, claim, or charge may be preserved and

kept effective by filing for record within 3 2 years after the

effective date of the amendatory act that added section 1a 2(2) or

during the 20-year period for mineral interests and the 40-year

period for other interests, a notice in writing, verified by oath,

setting forth the nature of the claim in the manner required by

section 5.

     (2) A disability or lack of knowledge of any kind on the part

of anyone does not suspend the running of the 20-year period for

mineral interests or the 40-year period for other interests.

     (3) For the purpose of recording notices of claim for

homestead interests, the date from which the 20-year period for

mineral interests and the 40-year period for other interests shall

run shall be run is the date of recording of the instrument ,

nonjoinder, in which is that contains the basis for the claim.

     (4) A notice under this section may be filed for record by the

claimant or by any other person acting on behalf of any claimant if

1 or more of the following conditions exist:

     (a) The claimant is under a disability.

     (b) The claimant is unable to assert a claim on his or her own

behalf.

     (c) The claimant is 1 of a class but whose identity cannot be

established or is uncertain at the time of filing the notice of

claim for record.

     Sec. 4. (1) This act shall must not be applied to bar do any

of the following:

     (a) Bar a lessor or his or her successor as reversioner of his

or her right to possession on the expiration of any a lease or any

a lessee or his or her successor of his or her rights in and to any

a lease. ; or to bar

     (b) Bar any interest of a mortgagor or a mortgagee or interest

in the nature of that of a mortgagor or mortgagee until after such

the instrument under which such interests are the interest is

claimed shall have has become due and payable, except where such if

the instrument has no due date expressed, where such if the

instrument has been executed by a railroad, railroad bridge,

tunnel, or union depot company, or any a public utility or public

service company. ; or to bar

     (c) Bar or extinguish any an easement or interest in the

nature of an easement, the existence of which is clearly observable

by physical evidences of its use. ; or to bar

     (d) Bar or extinguish any an easement or interest in the

nature of an easement, or any rights appurtenant thereto to the

easement or interest granted, excepted, or reserved by a recorded

instrument creating such the easement or interest, including any

rights for future use, if the existence of such the easement or

interest is evidenced by the location beneath, upon on, or above

any part of the land described in such the instrument of any a

pipe, valve, road, wire, cable, conduit, duct, sewer, track, pole,

tower, or other physical facility and whether or not the existence

of such the facility is observable, by reason of failure to file

the notice herein required by this act. Nor shall this act be

deemed to

     (2) This act does not affect any right, title, or interest in

land owned by the United States, nor or any right, title, or

interest in any land owned by the this state, of Michigan, or by

any department, commission, or political subdivision thereof.

     (3) This act does not affect any oil and gas lease, or other

interest in oil or gas, owned by a person other than the owner of

the surface, or any storage agreement or other interest in

subsurface storage formations owned by a person other than the

owner of the surface.

     Sec. 5. (1) To be effective and to be entitled to record, the

a notice above referred to shall of claim under section 3 must

contain an accurate and full description of all the land affected

by such the notice, which description shall must be set forth in

particular terms and not by general inclusions. , but However,

except as to mineral interests, if said the claim is founded upon

on a recorded instrument, then the description in such notice may

be the same as that contained in such recorded instrument. Such

must also state the liber and page or other county-assigned unique

identifying number of the recorded instrument the claim is founded

on. The failure to include the liber and page or other county-

assigned unique identifying number renders the recording

ineffective and the claim unpreserved. The notice must contain all

of the following:

     (a) The claimant's name.

     (b) The claimant's mailing address.

     (c) The interest claimed to be preserved.

     (d) Except as to mineral interests, the liber and page or

other unique identification number of the instrument creating the

interest to be preserved.

     (e) The legal description of the real property affected by the

claimed interest.

     (f) The claimant's signature.

     (g) An acknowledgment in the form required by the uniform

recognition of acknowledgments act, 1969 PA 57, MCL 565.261 to

565.270, and section 27 of the Michigan notary public act, 2003 PA

238, MCL 55.287.

     (h) The drafter's name and address.

     (i) An address to which the document can be returned.

     (2) A notice shall of claim under section 3 must be filed for

record in the register of deeds office of the county or counties

where the land described therein in the notice is situated.

located. The register of deeds of each county shall accept all such

notices of claim under section 3 that are presented to him which

the register of deeds that describe land located in the county in

which he the register of deeds serves and shall enter and record

full copies thereof of the notices in the same way that deeds and

other instruments are recorded. and each

     (3) A register shall be of deeds is entitled to charge the

same fees for the recording thereof of a notice under section 3 as

are charged for recording deeds. In indexing such notices in his

office each under section 3, a register of deeds shall enter such

the notices under the grantee indexes of deeds under the names of

the claimants appearing in such the notices.

     Enacting section 1. Section 9 of 1945 PA 200, MCL 565.109, is

repealed.

     Enacting section 2. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

after the date it is enacted into law.