New Florida Law Affects Drafting Errors in Deeds, Became Effective July 1

​The Florida Legislature passed a new law relating to drafting errors in deeds that went into effect on July 1, 2020.  Florida Statute Section 689.041 provides a procedure to cure scrivener’s errors in deeds instead of these issues having to be addressed through litigation.  The statute allows for specific errors to be resolved by preparing and recording a “curative notice”.  The types of issues that can be corrected with the curative notice are specifically outlined in detail in the statute.  The issues that can be fixed include errors or omission in the lot or block information of the property, errors or omissions in the unit, building, or phase identifications of a condo unit, and errors or omissions in a directional call or fraction of a section, township or range in the legal description.  However, the statute only applies where there is a “single error” in the legal description.  It seems the intent was to limit the number of errors that can be corrected using the curative notice, so deeds with multiple errors may not be able to rely on the statute’s remedy. ​

While there is not a single approved form for the curative notice, the statute does provide a form to be used to resolve the issues.  This form is helpful and is recommended for use since the law is so new and there is not much guidance yet as to other forms of the curative notice.  The curative notice can be attested by someone who has examined and reviewed the title to the property and identified the errors sought to be corrected.  Once executed and notarized, the curative notice is to be recorded by the clerk and will serve as evidence of the original grantor’s intent to convey the property to the grantee as shown in the original deed with the errors.  Most importantly, a proper curative notice not only corrects the errors in the original deed, but all deeds following the first erroneous deed are corrected as well.  The statute states that the correction of the errors dates back to the recording date of the first erroneous deed.
 
At PLG, attorneys review all of the titles to determine any title issues shown in the title exams.  We will continue to review and analyze title issues that may fit within the statute’s provisions and determine which option or options best fit our clients’ needs.  We will continue to resolve these issues through filing title claims and reformation actions as necessary, but this statute will be a valuable additional tool in resolving scrivener’s errors in legal descriptions of deeds.  Because the curative notice can be executed by someone who has examined the title, this relieves the difficult task of tracking down the original grantor and can be completed much faster.  Other jurisdictions have similar statutes for scrivener’s errors (often called Scrivener’s Affidavits), so this is a welcomed option for curing errors in deeds in Florida. 
 
After communicating with multiple national title insurance underwriters, their responses seem to be positive and supportive of using the statute’s remedy to cure the errors listed.  Several of the title insurance companies intend on releasing additional information on the statute shortly.  There will be plenty of articles and bulletins on when the statute applies, recommended forms of the curative notice, and how to use the curative notice to have the property be insurable by the title insurance company.