Affidavits and Re-recorded Real Property Documents in Utah
An error in a document can be corrected in one of three ways:
- By recording an affidavit.
- By re-recording the document.
- By recording a new document.
AFFIDAVIT
When deciding if a document needs to be corrected, it is best to first decide what the effect of the original document is. Then, decide if an affidavit will clarify the original document. An affidavit can only be effective if it clarifies an ambiguity created in the original. It cannot add to or take away from the effect of the original recording. There are different types of affidavits, each used to correct different issues in a document.
For typographical errors, use a Scrivener’s Affidavit. Omissions or obvious typographical errors in a legal description that will not allow a point of beginning to be determined can be corrected by a Scrivener’s Affidavit. If a point of beginning can be determined on the original document, whether or not it was the one intended by the executor of the document, an affidavit cannot change the point of beginning.
A Scrivener’s Affidavit, preferably from the notary, can be used to correct an error or omission in the acknowledgment.
If the original doesn’t indicate a plat of a recorded subdivision, an affidavit can be used to clarify the omission. If the section, township, or range is missing from the description, an affidavit cannot be used to change this.
An affidavit of identity can be recorded by someone personally acquainted with a grantor or grantee of a previously recorded document to clarify that a person (a grantor or grantee) is “also known as” (aka) or was “formerly known as” (fka) another name.
For an error in the survey, use a Surveyor’s Affidavit.
RE-RECORDING
A document submitted for re-recording must contain a new acknowledgment. It should also contain a brief explanation for the re-recording.
A person who re-executes and re-records a document or records an affidavit shall include a notice containing the name and address to which real property valuation and tax notices should be sent.
RECORDING A NEW DOCUMENT
The following discrepancies must be corrected by recording an additional deed or other document(s): changing the commencing point in a legal description, changing the tie legs to arrive at a different point of beginning than that given on the original document, changing or adding the names of grantors or grantees, changing or adding tenancy, or adding names of additional persons to consent to a previously recorded boundary line agreement.