Q: My mother is conveying a piece of real estate to me and my wife by way of a warranty deed. What are the requirements that must be met before recording the deed?

A: Georgia law requires that a deed should adequately describe the property being conveyed, be signed by the maker of the deed (grantor), and be attested to by two witnesses, one of whom is generally a notary public.

The real estate must be described with a formal legal description, which may include the metes and bounds of the property. An alternative is to describe the tract of land by referring to a plat recorded in the county land records. If the property is not sufficiently described so it can be identified, then the conveyance may be inoperative. The deed must be signed by the grantor or his or her authorized representative. Georgia law also requires that two witnesses must attest to the grantor's signature, at least one of whom should observe the grantor's actual act of signing the deed and sign a written statement acknowledging that fact. One of the witnesses is generally a notary public but may also be a judge of a court of record, a magistrate, or clerk or deputy clerk of a superior court or of a city court.

To be recorded, the deed must also have the name and mailing address of the person to whom the deed is to be returned legibly printed at the top of the first page. To make sure all formalities are properly addressed, it is always advisable to use a real estate attorney.

Q: What is a legal description?

A: A description of land recognized by law by which property can be positively located by reference to government surveys or approved recorded maps.

This column is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is not intended to render legal advice.— By Raghu R. Raju, associate with Weinstock & Scavo, P.C.; rraju@wslaw.net; www.wslaw.com.

Have question you would like answered in this column? Please contact James J. Scavo at jscavo@wslaw.net or c/o Weinstock & Scavo, P.C., 3405 Piedmont Road, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30305.