Connecticut General Statutes § 47-12a — Affidavit of Facts Relating to Title or Interest in Real Estate

An affidavit stating facts affecting title to or an interest in Connecticut real estate may be recorded and, if the affiant is unavailable, is admissible as prima facie evidence of those facts in litigation involving that title or interest.

Statutory Text

Sec. 47-12a. Affidavit of facts relating to title or interest in real estate.

(a) An affidavit, which states facts relating to the matters named in subsection (b) of this section and which may affect the title to or any interest in real estate in this state, and which is made by any person having knowledge of the facts or competent to testify concerning them in open court, may be recorded in the land records of the town in which the real estate is situated. If so recorded, and if the affiant is dead or otherwise not available to testify in court, then the affidavit, or a certified copy of it, is admissible as prima facie evidence of the facts stated in it, so far as those facts affect title to real estate in any action involving the title to that real estate or any interest in it.

(b) The affidavits provided for in this section may relate to the following matters: Age, sex, birth, death, capacity, relationship, family history, heirship, names, identity of parties, marital status, possession or adverse possession, adverse use, residence, service in the armed forces, conflicts and ambiguities in description of land in recorded instruments, the happening of any condition or event which may terminate an estate or interest, unlawful restrictive covenants and any other state of facts affecting title to real property.

(c) Every affidavit provided for in this section shall include a description of the land, title to which may be affected by facts stated in the affidavit, and shall state the name of the person appearing by the record to be the owner of the land at the time of the recording of the affidavit. The town clerk shall index the affidavit in the name of that record owner.

Statutory Annotations

The following historical and statutory notes are taken from the Connecticut General Statutes, as published on the official website of the Connecticut General Assembly. These notes are part of the statutory compilation and are not themselves enacted law:

(1967, P.A. 373, S. 1–3; P.A. 79-602, S. 39; P.A. 05-288, S. 161; P.A. 16-194, S. 2; P.A. 21-173, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 79-602 restated provisions; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 16-194 amended Subsec. (b) by adding “and any other state of facts affecting title to real property” and making a technical change; P.A. 21-173 amended Subsec. (b) by adding “, unlawful restrictive covenants”, effective July 1, 2021.

Notes

Elements:

• Affiant competence: personal knowledge or competence to testify in court (§ 47-12a(a)).
• Subject matter: facts affecting title or interest, including enumerated categories in § 47-12a(b).
• Recording: "may be recorded in the land records of the town in which the real estate is situated" (§ 47-12a(a)).
• Content requirements:
  • description of the land; and
  • name of the record owner at time of recording (§ 47-12a(c)).
• Indexing: by the record owner’s name (§ 47-12a(c)).

Evidentiary Effect

If recorded and the affiant is dead or otherwise unavailable, the affidavit (or certified copy) is prima facie evidence of the stated facts to the extent they affect title (§ 47-12a(a)).

Scope of Permissible Facts (Non-Exhaustive)

Includes: identity and family status (heirship, marital status), capacity, possession/adverse possession, adverse use, military service, ambiguities in land descriptions, occurrence of conditions terminating interests, unlawful restrictive covenants, and “any other state of facts affecting title” (§ 47-12a(b)).