This^is
V ft
BY THOMAS F. ADAMS, JR.
(For North Carolina
Bar Association)
Recording Deeds
In order to protect the purchasers
of real property, the State of North
Carolina has provided in each of its
counties an official known as the
Register of Deeds, whose duties in
clude the recordation of deeds convey
ing real property. Safety in the pur
chase of real estate depends largely
on the prompt and proper recordation
of deeds.
It is entirely possible that a deed
which is valid in all respects at the
time it is signed and delivered to the
grantee may later become void be
cause it is not recorded in apt time in
the office of the Register of Deeds in
the county where the land is located.
Such a deed is a deed of gift (that
is, one for which nothing is paid).
The law requires that a deed of gift
be recorded within “two years from
the date of its execution.” The term
“execution” includes delivery of the
deed to the grantee, who is the per
son to whom title to the property
passes. A deed of gift may be per
fectly good when executed and may
pass title to the grantee, but if such
deed is not recorded within two years
from the date of execution, it becomes
void and title to the property con
veyed by the deed goes back to the
grantors in the deed, or to their heirs.
A Protective Law
The law which provides for this re
version of title may seem a harsh one,
but it was enacted to prevent greater
evils. For example, look at the case
of a man who had four children and
decided to convey to each of them a
tract of land. Prior to the time of de
livery of the deeds, a daughter be
came seriously ill and it was not
Jmavm whether she would ever recov-
J f So the father decided to retain
tne deeds until the condition of her
health was known, having in mind
that he might need to retain the prop
erty to care for the sick daughter if
her illness continued. The father died
without ever having delivered any of
the deeds. An unscrupulous son knew 1
where the deeds were kept and des-j
troyed all of them except the one con
veying a tract of land to himself. He
thereby gained for himself the title to
the land described in the deed and an
equal share in his father’s remaining
property, unless the remainder was
apportioned by will. Then this son
claimed that the father delivered the
deed to him and fabricated some ex
cuse for having kept the matter a se
cret from the other children. If such
excuse seemed reasonable, few jur
ies would be likely to set the deed
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Food Sense—i Not Nonsense [
'E’s Following In Es Tracks
A trail more baffling than any followed by expert hunters continues
to puzzle nutrition research workers who follow the elusive tracks left
by vitamin E. The trail started in the laboratory as it has with other
vitamins. To date, experimental facts learned from the study of the
effect of vitamin E on laboratory animals have not led to the solution
of human ills.
i Scientists have found that on diets deficient in this vitamin, rats
become sterile but human sterility fails to respond to treatment with
vitamin E. Deficiency of this vitamin also produces muscular dystrophy
in certain experimental animals but the course of muscular dystrophy
in humans is unaltered by massive doses of vitamin E.
- It may be that man, unlike certain animals, has no requirement for
vitamin E. A more likely reason for the failure to demonstrate, human
vitamin E deficiency is that the vitamin is so widely distributed in foods
that it is almost impossible for man to omit it from his. diet.
< Vitamin Eis concentrated in vegetable oils—including the hydro
genated vegetable oils used as shortenings—cooking fats and table
spreads. There are substantial quantities of it in meat, eggs, green and
leafy vegetables and to a lesser extent in whole grains. The margarine
spread on whole wheat bread contributes more vitamin E than that fur
nished by the bread. Therefore, the loss of vitamin E during the milling
of white flour has no practical significance in the nutritional value of
the diet
■ Several years ago, interest in the usefulness of vitamin Eto man was
renewed when a report suggested that this vitamin might be effective
in the treatment of certain forms of heart disease. Later careful investi
gations revealed that vitamin E is without merit in the treatment of
heart disease in man.
aside unless the other children could
i prove that the deed was not deliver
ed. But if this unscrupulous son claim
ed that the deed was delivered at a
date prior to two years, he would talk
himself out of court and out of the
tract of land described in the deed.
Recording Important
Whether a deed is delivered as a
gift or for value received, it is im
portant that it be recorded by the Reg
ister of Deeds in the county where the
land lies if the grantee is to protect
his title. If the purchaser fails to
record his deed, the seller may con
vey the same land to a second pur
chaser, and if the second records his
deed first, the property becomes his.
On the other hand, if the purchaser
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1 Notice ts ths Voters of €hov/2n County I
I That I Am a Candidate for Sheriff 1
YOUR VOTE AND SUPPORT §
WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!
I Earl Goodwin I
"’HE CHOWAN HERALD, EDENTON. N. O MAY 6, 1954.
fails to record his deed and a creditor
of the seller places a judgment on the
record against the seller, the judg
ment attaches to the land of the pur
; chaser, and this land may be sold to
satisfy the judgment.
Often a buyer neglects to record his
deed because he feels that the seller
is so wealthy that no actual risk ex
ists. The depression of the thirties
taught us that few men are beyond
becoming insolvent since most busi
nesses are operated on a credit basis.
In addition, recent tax eases have
shown that some men of apparent
wealth have accumulated money
! through failure to declare and pay
; their income taxes. In such event the j
federal government files a tax lien
j|P SERMONS I
TEXT: “Hate and mistrust are the!
children of blindness.”—Wm. Watson. |
The other evening, after the PTA
meeting, we visited a few of the gram
mar school classrooms. The children’s
handiwork was strung across black
boards and walls. Among the exhibits
was a Junior Red Cross exchange let
ter sent by a schoolgirl in American
Samoa. It read, in part,
“ . . . We are studying different
subjects. I love them all except art.
Oh! It is my enemy. The reason
why I hate it is that I don’t know
how to draw pictures ...”
and his lien attaches to the property
conveyed by unrecorded deeds.
Checks The Record
In examining the title to real prop
erty, the attorney checks the record
of the seller until the date the deed
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I The crude, blunt English of the Sa-i!
I moan child amused us, but it express
ed a basic truth. A lack of knowledge
causes us to hate. Art is the “enemy” |
of those who have no knowledge of •
drawing, but are forced to attempt it. J
Free enterprise is the “enemy” of
those who do not understand it, yet
are forced to accept the penalties as
well as the rewards of the free mar
ket economy.
If we are truthful about our dislikes
as the little Samoan school girl was
i about her “hate”, we would be forced
to admit that, be it person or thing,”
. . . The reason why I hate it is that
I do not know ...”
I from him is recorded, regardless of
! the date that it was written and sign
ed. He determines whether every
• deed or other instrument affecting the
1 title to the property has been prop
-1 erly drawn and recorded within the
m
-.SECTION TWO
time required by law. Upon determin
ing that the title is clear, your deed
should be recorded so that no act by
any other person thereafter encumber
the title to the property purchased.
The recordation of your deed also pro
tects your title in the event of loss
of the original deed.
Not So Strange
Louise lsn’t it strange that all
jthose men in the front row are bald
headed ?
Milton—No, it isn’t so strange when
you know that they probably bought
icir tickets from scalpers.
k 000
Y f You Smote
Vott^ eed
olag Too*
IW “ 1 .go
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WHAT MAKES YOU TSIMPLY BECAUSE MV
-THINK ioo CAN RON/ BROTHERS THE eoRoNjCONVINCEP.
THROUGH RED /THIS BEAT, MTUNCLE / m«ter-
TRAPFIC LIGHTS | the chief of pouch
OUST LIKE TOO and my ORANOPOrtJ, Wwe.DS Wf
Page Three