W. Va. Code Ann. § 39-1-2a[a] (West 2013) requires the following (in relevant part):
“In addition to the other requirements prescribed by law, no instrument by which the title to real estate or personal property, or any interest therein or lien thereon, is conveyed, created, encumbered, assigned or otherwise disposed of, shall be recorded or admitted to record, or filed by the county clerk unless the name of the person who, and governmental agency, if any, which, prepared such instrument appears at the conclusion of such instrument and such name is either printed, typewritten, stamped, or signed in a legible manner . . . An instrument will be in compliance with this section if it contains a statement in the following form: ‘This instrument was prepared by (name)’.”
We currently print the “This instrument was prepared by” text at the end of our West Virginia security instruments and assignments. However, rather than generating the name of the preparer, we are printing a blank line to be manually filled out by the closer.
In order to help streamline the closing process, we will be revising this section so that two fields will pull after the phrase “This instrument was prepared by.” The first field is 22814 “Documents Prepared By Name,” which will generate the name of the individual who prepared the instrument.
Please note that in West Virginia, it is generally held that the preparation of a security instrument and assignment is considered the “practice of law” and can only be prepared by an individual who is either an attorney or one working under the supervision of an attorney, such as a scrivener (see 51 W. Va. Op. Atty. Gen. 327 [1965] and West Virginia State Bar Advisory Opinion 93-002). For this reason, a second field (22815 “Documents Prepared By Company Name”) will generate the name of the entity which the individual works for (such as a law firm), in order to demonstrate that the document was prepared under the supervision of an attorney.
Should one or both fields not be completed, a blank line will print in their stead, so the appropriate information may be filled out manually. Documents affected by this change are:
Cx359 (WV Deed of Trust)
Cx412 (WV Deed of Trust FHA)
Cx516 (WV Deed of Trust Second)
Cx1554 (WV Assignment of Deed of Trust)
Cx3045 (HELOC Mortgage – WV)
Cx4354 (WV Assignment from MERS)
Cx4505 (WV Assignment – INV BLANK)
These changes will take effect on October 3, 2013. If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please contact Client Support at 1.800.497.3584.
September 26, 2013
DR 138724