Opinion ID: 2765160
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Misstatement in 2006 Mortgage Document

Text: The plaintiffs also argue that the trial court erred by concluding that the misstatement in the 2006 mortgage, which referenced the wife as a single woman, was without independent legal significance. The trial court found that the reference to the wife as a single woman was an “erroneous representation” and concluded that “the probability is that there was a scrivener’s error with respect to her marital status,” which neither she nor the bank identified. The plaintiffs do not dispute these findings; rather, they argue that enforcing the 2006 mortgage with the error is inconsistent “with the statutory scheme requiring the mortgagor and his/her spouse, in order to properly encumber the homestead right, to execute the [encumbrance] of a homestead with the formalities of a land conveyance.” See RSA 480:5-a. They further assert that the description of the wife’s marital status in the 2006 mortgage document “is not without relevance” because “[r]eferencing the [wife] simply as ‘a single woman’ presumes that a bona fide purchaser or future mortgagees need look no further, perhaps to their peril.” We are not persuaded. RSA 480:5-a requires that, to convey or encumber the homestead right, a deed must be executed “with the formalities required for the conveyance of land.” The statutory formalities required for the conveyance of land include execution, acknowledgement, and recording, see RSA 477:1, :3, :3-a (2013), as well as compliance with various notification and disclosure requirements, see RSA 477:4-a to :4-h (2013). RSA chapter 477, which sets forth the requirements for conveyances of real estate, does not contain a provision invalidating deeds or mortgages that contain clerical errors, and we will not 9 read such a requirement into the statute. See Landry v. Landry, 154 N.H. 785, 788 (2007). Accordingly, we find no reason to conclude that the erroneous reference to the wife’s marital status has any legal significance with respect to whether the 2006 mortgage complied with RSA 480:5-a or to the bank’s ability to foreclose on the property. Affirmed. DALIANIS, C.J., and HICKS, LYNN, and BASSETT, JJ., concurred. 10