On February 8, 2013, the governor of the State of Illinois signed into law legislation amending the Illinois Conveyances Act providing that the provisions regarding the form of a mortgage are, and have always been, permissive. Specifically, the legislation provides that failure to state the interest rate or the maturity date, or both, shall not affect the validity or priority of a mortgage, nor shall its recordation be ineffective for notice purposes regardless of when the mortgage was recorded. While the amendment does not take effect until June 1, 2013, this legislation is welcome relief to mortgage holders and title companies that insured their mortgages after the In re Crane bankruptcy decision that set aside a recorded mortgage as invalid after construing the statute’s provisions as mandatory.
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