second deed is recorded before that originally given, the holder of the second deed may secure good title as against the holder of the first deed. The latter would, of course, have an action for fraud and damages against the seller, but this might be cold comfort and a poor substitute for title to the land which he had planned to acquire and occupy. A deed must be recorded in the county in which the land lies. To record it, it is only necessary to deliver it, or forward it by mail or otherwise, with the necessary recording charges, to the county clerk or other recording officer, whose office will be at the county seat. The recording charges are small, and depend upon the length of the deed. They will usually be less than $5. There may be special circumstances which lead the purchaser to withhold the deed from record. In the absence of any such, however, the recording should not be neglected or delayed.

Where the deed given is not a warranty deed, the warranty clause will be omitted, and usually a bargain and sale or a quit-claim form of deed will be used. Quit-claim and bargain and sale deeds carry with them no express warranties. The purchaser of land for a home should, unless the circumstances are exceptional, insist on the full-covenant form of deed. If the

seller displays an anxiety to deliver a quit-claim or bargain and sale deed the purchaser will do well to be on his guard. The tender of a bargain and sale or a quit-claim deed is often, in itself, a rather clear indication that the person tendering it has doubts regarding the title which he has a right to convey.

Another form of deed which is becoming more and more usual under modern conditions is the deed from a corporation. Title to land is frequently held to-day in the name of a corporation. In some cases the corporation is a real estate development company. In other cases it represents the holdings of some individual who, for the better handling of the property or questions of taxation or other reasons, has incorporated his holdings. In any case, where a deed from a corporation is received, the purchaser, to be entirely on the safe side, should receive with it a certified copy of the resolution of the board of directors, authorizing the giving of the deed. The corporation acts through its board of directors. Without authority from the board of directors the officers cannot deed the property of the corporation to others. If a deed is given to you by one of the officers in the name of the corporation, and it develops that no action was taken by the board of directors authoriz

ing the delivery of the deed, you are exposed to the danger that, at a future time, those in charge of the corporation may try to take advantage of this defect. If the management of the corporation should change and for any reason it should become in the interests of the corporation to void the title given, the new officers might well claim that the title was defective, in that the board of directors had never authorized the transfer of the property. A resolution authorizing the transfer is quite simple, and there should be no great difficulty in securing a copy of such a resolution certified by the secretary as correct.

Where a deed is acknowledged in a county or state other than that in which it is to be recorded, there should be secured what is known as a county clerk's or court clerk's certificate. This is simply the certificate of the county clerk or the clerk of the court having jurisdiction in this connection, to the effect that the notary before whom the acknowledgment of the deed was taken was duly qualified and entitled to act. The county clerk's certificate will be issued at the county seat of the county in which the acknowledgment was taken. The charge for it is usually about twenty-five cents, and it is issued as a matter of course upon application.

Another precaution which it is wise to take is

to state in the deed that the vendor is of full age and, if the vendor is married and the wife joins in the deed, to have a similar statement with respect to her. Where a deed is granted by an unmarried nian or woman, the deed should state, after the name of the grantor, that he or she is unmarried. Otherwise, on a search of the title, the question of whether the grantor was married or not will arise. Where such a statement is contained in the deed, the record will at once disclose the correct facts, and no elaborate investigation will be required, years afterward, to ascertain whether there might not have been living a wife or husband, as the case may be, who should have joined in the conveyance.

Where title is conveyed by an executor, the terms of the will pursuant to which he acts and the facts showing his proper appointment and qualification as an executor should be carefully checked and verified.

If it is the intention of the purchaser to place the title to the property in the name of his wife or of any one other than himself, the most convenient plan is for him to decide upon the name of the person in whom title is to be placed, before the closing is held. If he desires, for example, to have the property held by his wife, he can, by a direction to this effect at the closing,

have title passed direct to her by the seller. This will obviate the necessity of the owner redeeding the property to his wife, as he would have to do if he took title in his own name in the first instance. It may be to his advantage to have title placed in the name of himself and of his wife. Under the laws of some states, where property is jointly held by husband and wife, title to the property automatically passes to the survivor on the death of the other. On this point, the owner should secure a word of legal advice before acting, as the states differ materially in their statutory provisions concerning the rights of husband and wife in real property, and in the constructions which the courts have placed upon these rights.

Inasmuch as inheritance taxes are claims against the property left by a decedent, proper evidence should be secured also that all inheritance taxes on the estate of any decedent whose property it is proposed to transfer have been duly determined and paid. In the case of state inheritance taxes, the taxes are usually assessed and paid with far greater promptness than in the case of the Federal estate tax. In the state proceedings also, as a rule, there is an order'entered fixing the amount of the tax and, unless an appeal is taken from this order by the state tax