An Act To Amend and Remove the Need for Periodic Update of the Laws Governing the Validation of Title Defects
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1275
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: CARDONE, BAILEY
Amends: 33 MRSA §352, 33 MRSA §353-A, 33 MRSA §353-B

Legislative Document
No. 1275
H.P. 888
House of Representatives, April 4, 2017
An Act To Amend and Remove the Need for Periodic Update of the 
Laws Governing the Validation of Title Defects
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CARDONE of Bangor.
Cosponsored by Representative: BAILEY of Saco.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  33 MRSA §352, as amended by PL 2015, c. 157, §1, is further amended to 
read: 
§352.  Defective acknowledgments 
A record of a deed or other instrument, including a power of attorney, made prior to 
January 1, 2013 for the conveyance of real property, or of any interest in the real 
property, and recorded for at least 2 years in the registry of deeds of the county or district 
in which the real property is located is valid and enforceable even if: 
1.  Acknowledgment.  The acknowledgment: was incomplete or defective in any 
respect, no acknowledgment appears in the record of the deed, other instrument or power 
of attorney or no acknowledgment was taken; or 
A.  Was not completed; 
B.  Was erroneously taken; 
C.  Was taken by a person not having authority to take the acknowledgment or the 
authority of the person taking the acknowledgment was not completely stated or was 
erroneously stated; 
D.  Does not reveal whether the authority taking the acknowledgment acted as a 
notary public, a justice of the peace or other duly authorized authority for the taking 
of the acknowledgment; 
E.  Was not taken; 
F.  Had not been signed by the authority taking the acknowledgment but the authority 
had attached, affixed or stamped the deed or instrument with a seal of authority; 
G.  Was taken by the grantor or grantee or by the husband or wife of the grantor or 
grantee; 
H.  Was taken by a magistrate who was a minor or an interested party or whose term 
of office had expired at the time of the acknowledgment; 
I.  Was taken by an officer authorized to take an acknowledgment but outside the 
territory in which the officer was authorized to act; 
J.  Was taken by a person who, at the time of the acknowledgment, had received an 
appointment, election or permission authorizing that person to take the 
acknowledgment, but had not qualified and who has since qualified to take an 
acknowledgment; 
K.  Was authorized by the grantor who was acting as a duly authorized agent or 
officer of a corporation or in a fiduciary or representative capacity for a corporation; 
L.  Was taken in another state or country before a person authorized to take 
acknowledgments and was made on the form of acknowledgment prescribed by the 
laws of the state or country in which the deed or instrument was executed or the 
person taking the acknowledgment failed to affix a proper certificate to the deed or 
instrument, showing that person's authority to act as a magistrate; 
M.  Was not signed by a magistrate of this State or any other state or territory of the 
United States, or any foreign country, authorized to take an acknowledgment but was 
complete in every other respect and was signed by an ambassador, minister, charge 
d'affaires, consul, vice-consul, deputy consul, consul general, vice-consul general, 
consular agent, vice-consular agent, commercial agent or vice-commercial agent of 
the United States who was not qualified to take an acknowledgment, but has since 
become qualified by law to do so; 
N.  Was signed by a magistrate authorized to take an acknowledgment but the 
magistrate's official seal, the names of the grantors, the date and place of 
acknowledgment, the words "personally appeared before me" or a statement that it 
was acknowledged as the grantor's "free act and deed" had been omitted; or 
O.  Is in the form of an oath or states merely that the deed or instrument was 
subscribed in the magistrate's presence, or is otherwise informal or incomplete, but 
was signed by a magistrate authorized to take an acknowledgment; or 
2.  Records relating to title to real property.  The records in relating to the title to 
real property fail to disclose the date when received for record or the records have not 
been signed by the register of deeds or other duly authorized recording officer for the 
county or district. 
Sec. 2.  33 MRSA §353-A, as amended by PL 2015, c. 157, §2, is further amended 
to read: 
§353-A.  Miscellaneous defects 
1.  Omission of consideration; failure to seal.  A deed or other instrument, 
including a power of attorney, whenever made prior to January 1, 2013 for the 
conveyance of real property, or any interest in real property, in this State and otherwise 
valid, except that the deed or instrument does not state any consideration for the real 
property or was not sealed by the grantors, is valid. 
2.  Discharge or assignment of mortgage.  A duly recorded satisfaction piece or 
instrument made prior to January 1, 2013 and recorded for at least 2 years in the registry 
of deeds of the county or district in which the real property is located with the intent to 
cancel and discharge or assign a mortgage of real estate, fully identifying the mortgage 
intended to be canceled and discharged or assigned, but not drawn in accordance with 
statutory requirements is considered valid. 
3.  Corporations and other entities organized or attempted to be organized; 
validation of deeds and other instruments.  A corporation or other legal entity 
organized or attempted to be organized under the laws of this State for more than 20 years 
prior to January 1, 2013 and not yet declared to be invalid prior to January 1, 2013 is for 
all intents and purposes a lawful corporation or other legal entity as applicable.  The 
deeds or other instruments of the corporation or other legal entity, given in its corporate 
or other legal entity name, that affect or convey real estate or any interest in the real estate 
and that prior to January 1, 2013 were have been recorded for at least 2 years in the 
registry of deeds in the county where the real estate is located may not be held invalid by 
reason of: 
A.  The lack of authority for or informality in their execution or delivery if executed 
or delivered in good faith by the acting officers or other authorized officials or 
members of the corporation or other legal entity as applicable; 
B.  The failure to disclose the corporation's or other legal entity's authority for the 
conveyance of real estate; 
C.  The failure to bear the corporate seal of the corporation or other legal entity; 
D.  A person executing or acknowledging a deed or instrument in that person's 
individual capacity; 
E.  The failure to disclose the official capacity of the person executing the deed or 
instrument; or 
F.  The failure of the duly authorized corporate officer to sign the deed or instrument. 
4.  Omission of authorization for conveyance of real estate.  A deed or other 
instrument for the conveyance of real property, or any interest in the real property 
executed by a person or persons purporting to act as the agent or attorney of the grantors 
or their spouses, that has been recorded for at least 20 years in the registry of deeds for of 
the county or district in which the real property is located more than 40 years prior to 
January 1, 2013 is valid even if no power of attorney authorizing and empowering an 
agent or attorney to make the conveyance or execute and deliver the deed or instrument 
appears of record, but the real property has in the meantime been occupied, claimed or 
treated by the grantees or their heirs, successors or assigns as their own property. 
5.  Discharge of mortgage.  An instrument that has been recorded or written or 
recorded on the record in the registry of deeds more than 40 of the county or district in 
which the real property is located for at least 20 years prior to January 1, 2013 that is 
signed or executed by a person or persons purporting to act as the agent or attorney of a 
mortgagee of real estate and purporting to discharge the mortgage is valid even if no 
power of attorney authorizing an agent or attorney appears of record. 
6.  Failure to secure bond or comply with licensing.  In all cases in which an 
executor, administrator, personal representative, guardian, conservator, trustee, master, 
receiver or similar officer has been authorized or ordered by a court of probate or other 
court to distribute, sell or exchange real estate and has distributed, sold or exchanged the 
real estate, or any interest in the real estate, in accordance with the authority, without first 
having filed a bond covering the faithful administration and distribution of the sale estate 
when a bond was required by law or has failed to comply with any other prerequisite for 
the issuance of the license authorizing the distribution, sale or exchange and has given a 
deed to the distributee or purchaser of the real estate or to the person with whom an 
exchange was authorized or ordered or when the executor, administrator, personal 
representative, guardian, conservator, trustee, master, receiver or other officer appointed 
has acted in that capacity under a decree of any court appointing that person to the office, 
but the decree of appointment erroneously or inadvertently excused the person from 
giving bond in that capacity when a bond was required by law and was not in fact given, 
the deeds and acts previously done are valid. 
7.  Foreclosure by publication.  In all cases of foreclosure of real estate mortgages 
by publication, a certificate of the publication of foreclosure made by the mortgagee or by 
an officer, member, partner or other authorized representative of the mortgagee, if the 
mortgagee is a corporation or other legal entity, or made by an officer or employee of the 
newspaper that published the notice recorded on or before January 1, 2013 in the registry 
of deeds of the county or district in which the real property is located is prima facie 
evidence of the publication of foreclosure to the same extent as if the certificate had in 
fact been made by the register of deeds and recorded; certificates made by the mortgagee 
or by an officer, member, partner or other authorized representative of the mortgagee, if 
the mortgagee is a corporation or other legal entity, or made by an officer or employee of 
the newspaper that published the notice recorded on or before January 1, 2013 in the 
registry of deeds of the county or district in which the real property is located have the 
same force and effect as if made by the register of deeds and are valid. 
8.  Foreclosure by civil action.  All foreclosures commenced on or after October 1, 
1975 of real estate mortgages executed on or prior to October 1, 1975 using the method 
of foreclosure set forth in Title 14, sections 6321 to 6324 for which the period of 
redemption allowed was not less than one year and that would be valid but for the date of 
execution of the mortgage are valid and effective according to their terms. 
9.  Abstracts of divorce decrees.  An abstract of a divorce decree recorded in any 
registry of deeds prior to March 24, 1987 on or after August 20, 1955 and otherwise valid 
that failed to state the residence of any party to the divorce action is valid and has the 
force and effect of a quitclaim deed releasing all interest in the real estate described in the 
decree or abstract. 
Sec. 3.  33 MRSA §353-B, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 181, §4 and amended by PL 
2011, c. 682, §38, is further amended to read: 
§353-B.  Defects in plats 
Any plats of a subdivision approved by the municipal officers of the municipality in 
which the land is located, that have been recorded prior to January 1, 1970 for at least 2 
years in the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the land is located and 
otherwise valid, except that the same were not approved by a planning board pursuant to 
the 1944 Revised Statutes, chapter 80, section 85, as amended, the 1954 Revised Statutes, 
chapter 91, section 94, as amended, the 1954 Revised Statutes, chapter 90-A, section 61, 
as amended, or the 1964 Revised Statutes, Title 30, section 4956, as amended, or by the 
municipal reviewing authority pursuant to Title 30-A, section 4403, as amended, are 
validated. 
Any plat or subdivision approved by the planning board of the municipality in which 
the land is located, that has been recorded prior to January 1, 1970 for at least 2 years in 
the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the land is located and otherwise 
valid, except that the same were was not approved by the municipal officers pursuant to 
the 1944 Revised Statutes, chapter 80, section 85, as amended, the 1954 Revised Statutes, 
chapter 91, section 94, as amended, the 1954 Revised Statutes, chapter 90-A, section 61, 
as amended, or the 1964 Revised Statutes, Title 30, section 4956, as amended, are or by 
the municipal reviewing authority pursuant to Title 30-A, section 4403, as amended, is 
validated. 
Any plats of a subdivision approved by the planning board or by the municipal 
officers of the municipality or by both in which the land is located, that have been 
recorded prior to January 1, 1970 in the registry of deeds for the county or district in 
which the land is located and otherwise valid, except that the approval is not noted 
thereon pursuant to the 1944 Revised Statutes, chapter 80, section 85, as amended, the 
1954 Revised Statutes, chapter 91, section 94, as amended, the 1954 Revised Statutes, 
chapter 90-A, section 61, as amended, or the 1964 Revised Statutes, Title 30, section 
4956, as amended, or Title 30-A, section 4403, as amended, are validated, provided that if 
the approval by the appropriate board can be substantiated by affidavit recorded in the 
registry of deeds for the county or district in which the land is located, the recording of 
the affidavit to be noted on the plat. 
Any deed or other instrument for the conveyance of real property or any interest 
therein in the unorganized or deorganized territory, including plantations, in this State, 
which that was otherwise validly made or placed on record, except that it was made in 
violation of Title 12, section 687, as enacted by the Public Laws of 1969, chapter 494 and 
repealed by the Public Laws of 1971, chapter 457, section 7 or, made in violation of Title 
12, section 685-B, subsection 6, as enacted by the Public Laws of 1971, chapter 457, 
section 5 and amended by the Public Laws of 1971, chapter 544, section 28-G, or made in 
violation of Title 12, section 685-B, subsection 6-A as enacted by Public Law 1991, 
chapter 687, section 2 and amended by Public Law 2001, chapter 431, section 4, is 
validated. All structures on land in the unorganized or deorganized territory, including 
plantations, which that are not otherwise nuisances, shall may not be deemed to be 
nuisances merely because they are located upon land conveyed by deed or other 
instrument which that lacked evidence of the approval of the Maine Land Use Regulation 
Commission or the Maine Land Use Planning Commission, as applicable, thereon. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the laws governing the validation of title defects to specify under 
what circumstances various defects in deeds and other instruments and subdivision plats 
do not affect title to real property.  The bill removes the need for periodic updating of 
these laws by specifying the applicable lookback period.