It pains us to advise you of a yet another statutory amendment concerning what must be included in deeds for Kentucky real estate in order for the deed to be recordable.
KRS 382.135 (Kentucky’s Deed “Consideration Certificate" statute) was amended, effective June 29, 2017, to require that the “real” name of each grantor and each grantee be used in all Kentucky deeds. The amendment (by reference to the Kentucky’s UCC filing statute) states the "real name" of an individual grantor or grantee is the name on their current driver's license.
As a result, preparer’s of Kentucky deeds of conveyance will have to see the driver's license of every party to a deed to be able to properly prepare it. The legislature had no idea how much trouble, and extra time spent, this will cause in the “real world” of real estate practice!
For instance, many Kentucky driver’s licenses only set forth a portion of a person’s middle name, i.e. William Stev Jones when the persons accurate full name is William Steven Jones. Also many women neglect to change their name on their driver’s licenses following marriage or divorce upon a legal name change.
What is correct in this instances under the amendment? These are situations that apparently were not contemplated by the legislature. However, we have had all of them arise in the short time the amendment has been in effect.
Where the party's "real" name and their name on the deed conveying the property to them is different, that will need to be noted in the new deed. For instance, if the name of a grantee in the source of title deed is William C. Jones, but his name on his driver’s license is William Carter Jones, the new deed will need to set forth his name as "William Carter Jones (the same person as William C. Jones)".
In regards to our Real Estate Title Opinions, regretfully we will also have to add yet another Exception Paragraph which will except from our Certification any errors in the real name accuracy of the names of the grantors and grantees used in deeds in the chain of title executed after June 28, 2017.
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