When the record of any deed or other recorded instrument or the certificate of record is lost or destroyed, the clerk of the superior court may rerecord the instrument and the certificate of record. The rerecording shall be as valid as the original recording and shall take effect from the date of the original recording, provided the rerecording is within 12 months after the loss or destruction of the original recording.

(Ga. L. 1882-83, p. 148, § 1; Civil Code 1895, § 3619; Civil Code 1910, § 4199; Code 1933, § 29-402.)

Cross references.

- Admissibility of other evidence, § 24-10-1004.

Admission of public records, § 24-10-1005.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Constitutionality.

- Attack on the constitutionality of this statute, on the ground that the Act from which this statute was codified was broader than the Act's title, was without merit. Ashburn v. Spirey, 112 Ga. 474, 37 S.E. 703 (1900) (see O.C.G.A. § 44-2-12).

Retroactivity.

- Statute has no retroactive effect upon deeds, the records of which were destroyed before the date of the statute's enactment. Ashburn v. Spirey, 112 Ga. 474, 37 S.E. 703 (1900) (see O.C.G.A. § 44-2-12).

No date-back feature for corrective deeds.

- While O.C.G.A. § 44-2-12 provides authorization for rerecorded deeds to have a date-back feature, no comparable authority exists for corrective deeds. Green Rivers Forest, Inc. v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 200 Bankr. 956 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. 1996).

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TITLE 44 PROPERTY

Section 2. Recordation and Registration of Deeds and Other Instruments, 44-2-1 through 44-2-253.

ARTICLE 1 RECORDING

44-2-12. Rerecording lost or destroyed deeds and other instruments; validity.

Cross references.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Constitutionality.

Retroactivity.

No date-back feature for corrective deeds.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.