2005 Vermont Code - § 141. — Execution and acknowledgment of conveyance

§ 141. Execution and acknowledgment of conveyance

(a) A homestead or an interest therein shall not be conveyed by the owner thereof, if married, except by way of mortgage for the purchase money thereof given at the time of such purchase, unless the wife or husband joins in the execution and acknowledgment of such conveyance. A conveyance thereof, or of an interest therein, not so made and acknowledged, shall be inoperative so far only as relates to the homestead provided for in this chapter.

(b) When a mortgagee takes an accruing mortgage, the only debt which shall be secured thereby or become a lien upon the property described therein shall be the debt described in the mortgage and existing at the time of its execution, and any subsequent direct indebtedness of the mortgagor to such mortgagee; provided, that when the mortgage includes a homestead, the written consent of the wife or husband of the mortgagor to the creation of such subsequent direct indebtedness shall be required.

(c) If a mortgaged property includes a homestead, any amendment to the mortgage which increases the amount of the indebtedness secured thereby or extends the date of maturity thereof, shall be executed and acknowledged by both spouses. The failure to obtain the written spousal consent shall not affect the validity or priority of such amendment, but the lien created thereby shall be inoperative so far only as relates to the rights of homestead of such spouse in the mortgaged premises under chapter 3 of this title, provided the amendment is challenged by such spouse before his or her homestead interest is otherwise extinguished. (1999, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 31, eff. May 24, 2000.)