Practice Blawg » Real Property

What’s New at practicelaw.org

Nancy Hupp — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:54:50 +0000

practicelaw.org staff continue to add new resources and update old resources. To wit:

The County Contacts list for medical assistance was updated in January, thanks to Greg Lulic at the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The list was originally posted in June 2009 and updated in 2010. Users can quickly navigate to the county in question, find the name and contact information for the person(s) in charge of clearance certificates. Of course, lists such as these are moving targets, but we do our best to get them updated periodically. If you see something needing correction, let us know.

New and Updated UCBs and ECBs were posted in January

New Form 50.3.1 – Certificate of Translation (Minn. Stat. 507.46)
New Form 50.3.2 – Affidavit Regarding Farm Disposal of Solid Waste (Minn. Stat. 17.135)
Amended Form 40.5.1 – Receipt and Waiver of Mechanic’s Lien Rights
Amended Form 40.6.1 – Notice of Lis Pendens
Amended Form 40.6.2 Notice of Lis Pendens Foreclosure of Mechanic’s Lien

New Federal Tax Committee Updates were posted each month thanks to the MSBA’s Probate & Trust Law Section.

Coming soon – We are working on a set of organizational business forms which will be posted in phases starting in March. Staff have also been working on additional Jump Start At-A-Glance resources, primarily mind maps which visually depict an overview of an issue or area of law. Last Friday we posted on the solo small list serv to solicit member donations of checklists as they have proven to be a popular resource. Lastly we are in the process of reviewing practicelaw’s family law resources.

If you have suggestions, comments, donations please let us know.

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New Wisconsin Residential-Offer-to-Purchase Form

Nancy Hupp — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:06:42 +0000

Although we are the Minnesota State Bar Association, we know our members cross the border now and again and mix with cheeseheads and their property. So, for those such people, a heads up that the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing has approved a revised residential offer-to-purchase form. Its use is mandated July 1, 2011.

An article in the June issue of the Wisconsin Lawyer, “Revising the Residential Offer Form,” discusses the revisions. The author points out the improvements and also some potential flaws in the newly revised form. If you are dealing with Wisconsin residential real estate, be sure to read it.

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On Floods, Haiti, Property Records, and Preparing for Disaster

Andrea Hable — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:10:51 +0000

On this gloomy September day, I’ve been mulling over several seemingly unrelated things: floods, Haiti, paperless offices, electronic real estate recording, and the Torrens system. Brownie points to anyone who sees where I’m going with this.

It all started yesterday on the way home. I caught a story on NPR about how the biggest obstacle to rebuilding in Haiti isn’t resources but questions over land ownership. You can read the full story here, but this is the more pertinent part:

[C]onstruction is being held back right now by questions over land ownership. Haiti had very poor land title records before the quake, and the disaster destroyed many of the documents that did exist. . . . [M]ost aid agencies won’t put a transitional shelter on a plot of land if it is unclear who actually owns the property.

Not only does this drive home the importance of law and having clear title, but also the immense benefit technology can provide to recordkeeping. Although many attorneys are still keeping paper files, those who have been through natural disasters (flooding, fires) are the early adopters and advocates for the “paperless office.” Which brings me to current event number two: the rainstorm that is pouring nearly a foot of water on parts of southern Minnesota and has, as of this post, closed the Steele County Courthouse and led the governor to declare a state of emergency. Which, if you are still following me, raises some questions.

On a small scale: Do you have an emergency plan for your office? Not an “Exit through the side door if there’s a fire” kind of plan, but a plan for “If I can’t get to the office — or if there is no office anymore — how do I access my files?” You’ve probably heard plenty of talk about keeping a paperless office. If you didn’t know why it was a such a big deal, dealing with a disaster is a significant piece of the equation.

You also want to answer the question “If I die suddenly or am incapacitated, who and how will anyone take care of my clients?” Ethically, we should answer these questions. At our last Off the Clock, Karen Marty presented her instructions for closing office, which also works as emergency or vacation instructions. We’ll be sharing her list on practicelaw in the near future.

On a big scale: We are lucky in Minnesota. To begin with, our title records have been clearer than what many have experienced on the east coast simply due to less overcrowding and more reliance on plats than metes and bounds descriptions. We also have many talented real estate attorneys who have made electronic records a reality and the Electronic Real Estate Recording Commission is working toward e-recording. Though the primary goal has been to save time and paperwork by recording electronically, the benefit of having enduring records is really hit home by the devastation we see in Haiti.

In fact, a coworker just told me that the Great Chicago Fire was the main event prompting adoption of the Torrens registration system in Illinois.

It is often natural disasters that push the legal community to change or should at least make us appreciate what we have.

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Post tags: Disaster Planning, Property Records

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Forms Revised Per MCIOA Amendments

Nancy Hupp — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:50:32 +0000

Last spring the Legislature amended the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act, Minnesota Statutes Chapter 515B. The House Public Information Service published a summary of the changes.

Accordingly the Residential Real Estate Committee of the MSBA’s Real Property Section revised two of its forms that concern common interest community property:

RPF Form 12 Addendum to Purchase Agreement: Common Interest Community Property
RPF Form 16 Minnesota Common Interest Community Resale Disclosure Certificate

Both of the revised forms are now posted at practicelaw.org. The revisions to the forms track those required by the new legislation.

© Nancy Hupp for Practice Blawg, 2010. | Permalink | No comments yet | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: MCOIA, New Laws, practicelaw

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Revised Uniform Conveyancing Blanks

Nancy Hupp — Wed, 12 May 2010 18:40:41 +0000

Earlier this week, the Minnesota Department of Commerce approved two revised sets of Uniform Conveyancing Blanks – Series 10 (Deeds) and Series 30 (Contracts for Deeds) – 62 forms in all.

The Department of Commerce Order indicates exactly what changes were made to which forms. The more significant changes, however, include:

space to include the Well Disclosure Certificate number if it is electronically filed
revised hereditament language to promote language consistency across forms
revised conveyance language to include “and quitclaims” on Series 10.4, .5, and .6 (Trustee’s Deeds, Deeds of Distributions, Deeds of Sale, Conservator’s Deeds)

These 2010 forms replace the 2006 versions and are now posted on practicelaw and on the Department of Commerce website.

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