NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1969 SESSION

CHAPTER 694

HOUSE BILL 839

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE CLEAR IDENTIFICATION OF PARTIES SIGNING INSTRUMENTS TO BE REGISTERED OR FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE REGISTER OF DEEDS AND TO PROVIDE A SYSTEM OF INDEXING WHEN THE PRINTED AND WRITTEN NAME OF SIGNERS OF INSTRUMENTS IS IN CONFLICT.

The General Assembly of North Carolina to enact:

Section 1.  Chapter 161 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to be designated as G.S. 161-14.2, and to read as follows:

"G.S. 161-14.2.  Indexing procedures for instruments and documents tiled in the office of the register of deeds. The following procedure shall be used in making index entries:

(1)        When each word of the signature is legible and it gives the complete name of the party, the signature shall govern.

(2)        When the signature is legible but initials or abbreviations are used, any additional information given by the printed or typed name and not in conflict with the signature shall govern.

(3)        When none of the words in the signature are legible, the printed or typed name shall govern.

(4)        When one or more of the words in the signature are legible, then the words that are legible shall govern; the words that appear in the printed or typed name shall govern over the words of the signature that are not legible.

(5)        When the spelling of any word in a legible signature and the spelling of the corresponding word in the typed or printed name is at variance, and the variance would cause the entries to be made at different places in the index, then the instrument shall be indexed under both spellings.

(6)        When a reasonable interpretation of an illegible word in a signature is at variance with the corresponding word in a typed or printed name, and the variance would cause the entries to be made at different places in the index, then the instrument shall be indexed in both places.

Sec. 2.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3.  This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after July 1, 1969.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 2nd day of June, 1969.