Bill Text: CT SB00248 | 2016 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An Act Concerning Revisions To Statutes Affecting Title To Real Property.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Passed) 2016-06-10 - Signed by the Governor [SB00248 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2016-SB00248-Introduced.html
General Assembly |
Raised Bill No. 248 | ||
February Session, 2016 |
LCO No. 1853 | ||
*01853_______JUD* | |||
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY |
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Introduced by: |
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(JUD) |
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AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO STATUTES AFFECTING TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 45a-428 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
(a) If the [Court of Probate] Probate Court finds that the estate of a deceased person is insolvent and if the real property has been specifically devised or if the court finds that the estate of such person is solvent but that there are no assets of the estate, other than real property specifically devised or forbidden by will to be sold or mortgaged, from which debts, taxes and administration charges against the estate may be paid, the court shall order personal notice of the pendency of the application for a decree authorizing the sale or mortgage of such real property to be given to all devisees of such real property whose existence, names and residences can be ascertained by the court and shall order such other notice as it deems advisable to be given to all such devisees whose existence, names and residences cannot be ascertained by the court.
(b) Except as provided in this section, real property of a decedent whose estate is solvent and either specifically devised by will or forbidden by will to be sold or to be mortgaged shall not be so ordered to be sold or mortgaged without the written consent of the specific devisees or other parties interested as distributees of such real property or of the guardians ad litem or guardians or conservators of the estates of those not legally competent so to consent. Neither a Probate Court order nor the consent of specific devisees shall be required when the testator has authorized the fiduciary to sell any real property without court order.
Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 45a-583 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
(d) A disclaimer under this section shall be effective if made in the following manner: (1) A disclaimer of a present interest shall be delivered not later than the date which is nine months after the later of (A) the effective date of the nontestamentary instrument, or (B) if the disclaimer is made by or on behalf of a natural person, the day on which such person attains the age of eighteen years or, if such person does not survive to the age of eighteen years, the day on which such person dies. (2) A disclaimer of a future interest shall be delivered not later than the date which is nine months after the later of (A) the event determining that the taker of the interest is finally ascertained and such interest is indefeasibly vested or (B) if the disclaimer is made by or on behalf of a natural person, the day on which such person attains the age of eighteen years or, if such person does not survive to the age of eighteen years, the day on which such person dies. (3) If the disclaimant, or the person on whose behalf the disclaimer is made, does not have actual knowledge of the existence of the interest, the disclaimer shall be delivered not later than the date which is nine months after the later of (A) the date on which the disclaimant, or the person on whose behalf the disclaimer is made, first has actual knowledge of the existence of the interest or (B) if the disclaimer is made by or on behalf of a natural person, the day on which such person attains the age of eighteen years or, if such person does not survive to the age of eighteen years, the day on which such person dies. (4) The disclaimer shall be delivered to the transferor of the interest, the transferor's legal representative or the holder of the legal title to the property to which such interest relates. (5) If an interest in real property is disclaimed, a copy of such disclaimer shall also be recorded in the office of the town clerk in which the real property is situated. [within such nine-month period, and if a copy of such disclaimer is not so recorded, it shall be ineffective against any person other than the disclaimant, or the person on whose behalf such disclaimer is made, but only as to such real property interest] As to such real property interest, such disclaimer shall not be effective against any person other than the disclaimant, the person on whose behalf such disclaimer is made or any person having actual knowledge of such disclaimer until the time of recording. For the purposes of this section, the effective date of a nontestamentary instrument is the date on which the maker no longer has power to revoke it or to transfer to the maker or another the entire legal and equitable ownership of the interest.
Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 47-12a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
(b) The affidavits provided for in this section may relate to the following matters: Age, sex, birth, death, capacity, relationship, family history, heirship, names, identity of parties, marital status, possession or adverse possession, adverse use, residence, service in the armed forces, conflicts and ambiguities in description of land in recorded instruments, [and] the happening of any condition or event which may terminate an estate or interest and any other state of facts affecting title to real property.
Sec. 4. Section 49-9a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, a release of mortgage executed by any person other than an individual that is invalid because it is not issued or executed by, or fails to appear in the name of the record holder of the mortgage on one, two, three or four-family residential real property located in this state, including, but not limited to, a residential unit in any common interest community, as defined in section 47-202, shall be as valid as if it had been issued or executed by, or appeared in the name of, the record holder of the mortgage unless an action challenging the validity of the release is commenced and a notice of lis pendens is recorded in the land records of the town where the release is recorded within five years after the release is recorded, provided an affidavit is recorded in the land records of the town where the mortgage was recorded which states the following:
(1) The affiant has been and remains the record owner or the personal representative of the record owner of the real property described in the mortgage for at least two years prior to and as of the date of the affidavit;
(2) The recording information for the mortgage, any assignment of the mortgage and the release;
(3) Since the date of the recording of the release, the affiant has received no demand for payment of all or any portion of the debt secured by the mortgage and has received no notice or communication that would indicate that all or any portion of the mortgage debt remains due and owing; and
(4) To the best of the affiant's knowledge and belief, the mortgage debt has been paid in full.
(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any release obtained by forgery or fraud.
Sec. 5. Section 49-39 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
A mechanic's lien shall not continue in force for a longer period than one year after the lien has been perfected, unless the party claiming the lien commences an action to foreclose it, by complaint, cross-complaint or counterclaim, and records a notice of lis pendens in evidence thereof on the land records of the town in which the lien is recorded within one year from the date the lien was recorded or within sixty days of any final disposition of an application made pursuant to section 49-35a, including any appeal taken with respect thereto in accordance with section 49-35c, whichever is later. Each such lien, after the expiration of the one-year period or sixty-day period, as the case may be, without action commenced and notice thereof filed as aforesaid, shall be invalid and discharged as a matter of law. An action to foreclose a mechanic's lien shall be privileged in respect to assignment for trial. With respect to any such lien which was validated in accordance with the provisions of section 49-37a, the one-year period or sixty-day period, as the case may be, shall toll from the date of the validation.
Sec. 6. Section 49-72 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
Any private water company which is owed rates or charges for connection with or for the use of its water system and such rates or charges are not paid when due has a lien on the real estate served and a charge against the owners of such real estate from the date the rates or charges were due, provided the owner of such real estate when the lien is recorded is the party that owes such rates or charges. The lien and charge shall bear interest at the rate of eighteen per cent per annum so long as the rates or charges remain unpaid. The lien may be recorded and released in the manner provided for recording and releasing tax liens. The lien shall not continue for more than one year after the date the rates or charges were due, unless the secretary of the company, before the expiration of that year, has filed a certificate of continuation of the lien in the manner provided by law for the continuance of tax liens. When continued the lien shall be valid for fourteen years thereafter. The lien shall take precedence over all other [subsequently] recorded liens or encumbrances except taxes and liens for assessments filed by an association of a common interest community under section 47-258 and may be foreclosed against the lot or building served in the same manner as a lien for taxes.
Sec. 7. Subsection (c) of section 52-380a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2016):
(c) A judgment lien on real property may be foreclosed or redeemed in the same manner as mortgages on the same property. In the case of a consumer judgment, the complaint shall indicate whether, pursuant to an installment payment order under subsection (b) of section 52-356d, the court has entered a stay of execution and, if such a stay was entered, shall allege any default on an installment payment order which is a precondition to foreclosure. No action to foreclose a judgment lien filed pursuant to this section may be commenced unless an execution may issue pursuant to section 52-356a. The judgment lien shall expire twenty years after the judgment was rendered, except any judgment lien recorded with respect to a small claims action shall expire ten years after the judgment was rendered, unless the party claiming the lien commences an action to foreclose it within that period of time and records a notice of lis pendens in evidence thereof on the land records of the town in which the real property is located.
Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2016) Any conveyance of an interest in land to a trust rather than the trustee or trustees of the trust shall constitute a valid and enforceable transfer of that interest. Any conveyance by the trust, which conveyance is signed by a duly authorized trustee of such trust, shall be treated as if the conveyance was made by the trustee.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
October 1, 2016 |
45a-428 |
Sec. 2 |
October 1, 2016 |
45a-583(d) |
Sec. 3 |
October 1, 2016 |
47-12a(b) |
Sec. 4 |
October 1, 2016 |
49-9a |
Sec. 5 |
October 1, 2016 |
49-39 |
Sec. 6 |
October 1, 2016 |
49-72 |
Sec. 7 |
October 1, 2016 |
52-380a(c) |
Sec. 8 |
October 1, 2016 |
New section |
Statement of Purpose:
To make various revisions to statutes affecting title to real property.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]