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The Florida Senate

2024 Florida Statutes

Title XL REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY
Chapter 694
CERTAIN CONVEYANCES MADE VALID
CHAPTER 694
CHAPTER 694
CERTAIN CONVEYANCES MADE VALID
694.01 Conveyances executed between 1817 and 1822.
694.02 Married women’s conveyances validated.
694.03 Married women’s conveyances by attorney validated.
694.04 Conveyances by married women; defective acknowledgments validated.
694.05 Certain other conveyances validated.
694.06 Deeds executed by State Board of Education.
694.07 Certain grant of lands confirmed.
694.08 Certain instruments validated, notwithstanding lack of seals or witnesses, or defect in acknowledgment.
694.09 Certified copies admissible in evidence.
694.10 Certain titles not affected.
694.11 Certain deeds of county commissioners validated.
694.12 Validation of instruments in which name of corporation is incorrectly set out.
694.13 Ratifying, validating, and confirming conveyances of real estate by county commissioners, district school boards, or boards of bond trustees or commissioners of drainage or other special improvement districts.
694.14 Validation of deeds executed by guardians appointed under Veterans’ Guardianship Law.
694.15 Validation of conveyances by board of trustees.
694.16 Conveyances by merger or conversion of business entities.
694.17 Validation of conveyances to custodian or trustee of an individual retirement account or qualified plan.
694.01 Conveyances executed between 1817 and 1822.—All deeds of conveyance, bills of sale, mortgages or other transfers of property, either real or personal, within the limits of this state, made and received bona fide and upon good consideration at any time between January 17, 1817, and October 1, 1822, shall be as good and efficient in law and equity as if the same had been made and executed according to the formalities of the Spanish law as against the maker or makers thereof, and every person or persons claiming by, through, or under him, her, or them; provided, that nothing in this section contained shall be so construed as to affect the interest of persons not parties to any of the contracts aforesaid; and provided, also, that the said deeds of conveyance, bills of sale, mortgages and other transfers were recorded agreeably to the laws of the state within 6 months from June 24, 1823.
History.—June 24, 1823; RS 1968; GS 2474; RGS 3815; CGL 5688.
694.02 Married women’s conveyances validated.—All sales, conveyances, transfers, or mortgages made prior to February 14, 1835, by married women of their real estate of inheritance where the husbands of such married women have joined therein shall be as valid as if the same had been conveyed by fine as at common law.
History.—s. 2, Feb. 4, 1835; RS 1969; GS 2475; RGS 3816; CGL 5689.
694.03 Married women’s conveyances by attorney validated.—Any deed, release or conveyance executed and acknowledged before the passage of the act approved February 20, 1875, entitled, “An Act to authorize married women to convey their separate estate and release dower by attorney,” yet in the manner therein provided, shall have the same force and effect and be as valid as if the same had been executed and acknowledged after the passage of the said act.
History.—RS 1970; GS 2476; RGS 3817; CGL 5690.
694.04 Conveyances by married women; defective acknowledgments validated.—All conveyances, contracts, transfers, or mortgages of real property or of any interest in it, including relinquishments of dower, executed by a married woman before May 13, 1943, that were not acknowledged separate from her husband or in which the separate acknowledgment was defective for any other reason are as valid and effective as though the acknowledgment had been properly made.
History.—Ch. 5412, 1905; s. 1, ch. 6217, 1911; RGS 3818; CGL 5691; s. 9, ch. 20954, 1941; s. 1, ch. 70-4.
694.05 Certain other conveyances validated.—Any deed or conveyance heretofore executed and acknowledged in accordance with the provisions of the act approved February 24, 1873, entitled “An Act providing for the acknowledgment of deeds and other conveyances of lands,” shall be held good and valid.
History.—s. 2, ch. 2069, 1875; RS 1971; GS 2477; RGS 3819; CGL 5692.
694.06 Deeds executed by State Board of Education.—All deeds conveying lands granted to or held by the state for educational purposes heretofore executed by the members of the State Board of Education are hereby confirmed and declared to be valid and binding as conveyances of the title to such lands.
History.—s. 2, ch. 4999, 1901; GS 2478; RGS 3820; CGL 5693.
694.07 Certain grant of lands confirmed.—The state does hereby grant and confirm to purchasers, grantees and assigns of the several railroad companies which accepted the provisions of the act entitled, “An Act to provide for and encourage a liberal system of internal improvements in this state,” approved January 6, 1855, and their assigns, the lands and titles thereto which were granted to the state by the United States to aid in the construction of certain railroads in the state, by Act of Congress, approved May 17, 1856, which said land has been selected and located for the several railroad companies accepting the provisions of said act along the line of their respective roads, to the extent and proportion to which they severally became entitled under said act to provide for and encourage a liberal system of internal improvements in this state and the Act of Congress granting the same above referred to. And to confirm and convey the title to any lands which may hereafter be selected and approved to the state for the use of the several railroads as aforesaid, to the purchasers, grantees and assigns of said railroads.
History.—s. 1, ch. 4707, 1899; GS 2479; RGS 3821; CGL 5694.
694.08 Certain instruments validated, notwithstanding lack of seals or witnesses, or defect in acknowledgment.—
(1) Whenever any power of attorney has been executed and delivered, or any conveyance has been executed and delivered to any grantee by the person owning the land therein described, or conveying the same in an official or representative capacity, and has, for a period of 7 years or more been spread upon the records of the county wherein the land therein described has been or was at the time situated, and one or more subsequent conveyances of said land or parts thereof have been made, executed, delivered and recorded by parties claiming under such instrument or instruments, and such power of attorney or conveyance, or the public record thereof, shows upon its face a clear purpose and intent of the person executing the same to authorize the conveyance of said land or to convey the said land, the same shall be taken and held by all the courts of this state, in the absence of any showing of fraud, adverse possession, or pending litigation, to have authorized the conveyance of, or to have conveyed, the fee simple title, or any interest therein, of the person signing such instruments, or the person in behalf of whom the same was conveyed by a person in an official or representative capacity, to the land therein described as effectively as if there had been no defect in, failure of, or absence of the acknowledgment or the certificate of acknowledgment, if acknowledged, or the relinquishment of dower, and as if there had been no lack of the word “as” preceding the title of the person conveying in an official or representative capacity, of any seal or seals, or of any witness or witnesses, and shall likewise be taken and held by all the courts of this state to have been duly recorded so as to be admissible in evidence;
(2) Provided, however, that this section shall not apply to any conveyance the validity of which shall be contested or have been contested by suit commenced heretofore or within 1 year of the effective date of this law.
History.—s. 1, ch. 10169, 1925; CGL 5695; s. 15, ch. 20954, 1941; s. 1, ch. 25277, 1949; s. 1, ch. 26957, 1951; s. 35, ch. 69-216; s. 22, ch. 2019-71.
694.09 Certified copies admissible in evidence.—A copy of any of the instruments referred to in s. 694.08 duly certified, under the hand and seal of office of the officer in whose office the same may be recorded, to be a true and correct copy of the original, on file or of record in her or his office, shall in all cases and in all courts be admitted and received in evidence with the like effect and force as the original thereof might be.
History.—s. 2, ch. 10169, 1925; CGL 5696; s. 760, ch. 97-102.
694.10 Certain titles not affected.—Nothing in s. 694.08 contained shall be taken or held to validate or perfect any title to any land as against one or more in adverse possession thereof or holding or claiming title under a different or adverse chain of title from either a common or different source.
History.—s. 3, ch. 10169, 1925; CGL 5697.
694.11 Certain deeds of county commissioners validated.—All deeds of conveyance of lands in this state heretofore made and executed prior to the year 1915 by the board of county commissioners of any county in this state of lands lying and being within such county, or that were made and executed by someone acting by or under the authority of any such board of county commissioners, of any such lands, be and the same are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed, and declared to convey such title, right or interest therein as such county may have had or held at the time of the conveyance, and as was expressed in any such deed of conveyance, and intended to be conveyed thereby. Provided, that nothing in this section shall validate any deed that was fraudulently obtained or that is now in litigation.
History.—s. 1, ch. 13622, 1929; CGL 1936 Supp. 5697(1).
694.12 Validation of instruments in which name of corporation is incorrectly set out.—All deeds of conveyance, bills of sale, mortgages, or other transfers of real or personal property within the limits of this state, heretofore made and received bona fide and upon good consideration by any corporation, or to any corporation, in which the name of said corporation shall be incorrectly set out in such deed, bill of sale, mortgage or other instrument by omitting a word from the corporate name, or by adding a word thereto, or by misspelling any part of the name of said corporation, and the identity of said corporation shall plainly appear from the contents of said instrument, or otherwise, such deed, bill of sale, mortgage or other instrument, shall be taken and deemed valid and effectual as though the name of said corporation were correctly set out in said deed, bill of sale, mortgage or other instrument, and the same shall, notwithstanding such irregularity or defect, be deemed and taken as properly executed.
History.—s. 1, ch. 14838, 1931; CGL 1936 Supp. 5673(1); s. 7, ch. 22858, 1945.
694.13 Ratifying, validating, and confirming conveyances of real estate by county commissioners, district school boards, or boards of bond trustees or commissioners of drainage or other special improvement districts.—
(1) All conveyances of real estate heretofore made by any of the several counties of the state or the county commissioners thereof, or any district school board, or any board of bond trustees or commissioners or supervisors of a drainage or other special improvement district, be and the same are hereby ratified, validated, and confirmed; provided, however, that this section shall not ratify, validate, or confirm any such conveyances which are the subject of litigation on June 16, 1947, or any tax deed, or title acquired by failure of the owner of lands to pay taxes or assessments.
(2) The several counties of the state by a majority of the county commissioners thereof or any school board or any board of bond trustees or commissioners or supervisors of a drainage or other special improvement district or a majority of the members thereof, are hereby authorized to execute and deliver deed to real property in which any such county, school board, board of bond trustees or commissioners or supervisors of a drainage or other special improvement district may have been interested.
History.—ss. 1, 2, ch. 24307, 1947; s. 11, ch. 25035, 1949; s. 1, ch. 69-300.
694.14 Validation of deeds executed by guardians appointed under Veterans’ Guardianship Law.—Any deed of conveyance, executed bona fide and for a valuable consideration authorized and approved by order of the probate court, by any limited guardian who was appointed as guardian under the Veterans’ Guardianship Law of Florida and who acted under that law and the order of the probate court in the execution of the deed of conveyance is hereby cured and shall be deemed and taken as if properly executed, notwithstanding the fact that the deed was executed to property that the mentally incompetent veteran did not directly or otherwise acquire with money received by the veteran from the United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs, and notwithstanding the fact that the conveyance is to property acquired by the mentally incompetent veteran before she or he became a veteran or was declared insane, and notwithstanding the fact that some of the information required by the Veterans’ Guardianship Law was not set out in the petition for appointment of the guardian, and notwithstanding the fact that the guardian did not publish the notice of application for an order of sale as required by s. 744.631, and notwithstanding any other defect in any part of the guardianship proceeding that resulted in the court-authorized and court-approved proceeding which resulted in the execution of such guardian’s deed.
History.—ss. 1, 2, ch. 57-341; s. 1, ch. 73-304; s. 170, ch. 73-333; s. 19, ch. 84-62; s. 761, ch. 97-102; s. 68, ch. 99-3.
694.15 Validation of conveyances by board of trustees.—All conveyances and releases of any interest in lands, title to which was vested in the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund under chapter 253, made by the board of trustees after June 30, 1975, and prior to July 1, 1977, are hereby ratified, confirmed, and validated in all respects.
History.—s. 1, ch. 77-385.
694.16 Conveyances by merger or conversion of business entities.—As to any merger or conversion of business entities prior to June 15, 2000, the title to all real estate, or any interest therein, owned by a business entity that was a party to a merger or a conversion is vested in the surviving entity without reversion or impairment, notwithstanding the requirement of a deed which was previously required by former s. 607.11101, former s. 608.4383, former s. 620.204, former s. 620.8904, or former s. 620.8906.
History.—ss. 7, 8, ch. 2000-298; s. 100, ch. 2006-1; s. 36, ch. 2015-148; s. 293, ch. 2019-90.
694.17 Validation of conveyances to custodian or trustee of an individual retirement account or qualified plan.—All conveyances, deeds, mortgages, lease assignments, or other recorded instruments transferring an interest in real property in this state to a custodian or trustee, which were recorded before July 1, 2006, but would be within the scope of s. 689.072 if recorded after July 1, 2006, are ratified, confirmed, and validated in all respects and shall be deemed to have vested such interest in the custodian or trustee without reversion or impairment, as if such instruments had been recorded after July 1, 2006, and s. 689.09 shall not apply to any such instruments regardless of when recorded.
History.—s. 2, ch. 2006-147.