2023 Maryland Statutes
Real Property
Title 4 - Requisites of Valid Instruments
Subtitle 1 - General Rules
Section 4-109 - Defective Grants

Universal Citation:
MD. Real Property Code § 4-109 (2023)
Learn more This media-neutral citation is based on the American Association of Law Libraries Universal Citation Guide and is not necessarily the official citation.

    (a)    If an instrument was recorded before January 1, 1973, any failure of the instrument to comply with the formal requisites listed in this section has no effect, unless the defect was challenged in a judicial proceeding commenced by July 1, 1973.

    (b)    If an instrument is recorded on or after January 1, 1973, whether or not the instrument is executed on or after that date, any failure to comply with the formal requisites listed in this section has no effect unless it is challenged in a judicial proceeding commenced within six months after it is recorded.

    (c)    For the purposes of this section, the failures in the formal requisites of an instrument are:

        (1)    A defective acknowledgment;

        (2)    A failure to attach any clerk’s certificate;

        (3)    An omission of a notary seal or other seal;

        (4)    A lack of or improper acknowledgment or affidavit of consideration, agency, or disbursement;

        (5)    An omission of an attestation;

        (6)    A failure to name any trustee in a deed of trust; or

        (7)    A lack of or defective witness attestation to a power of attorney.

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