Lowell Deeds

This past Monday, representatives from most Massachusetts registries of deeds gathered in Worcester to discuss the indexing standards that deal with “multiple documents” and “multifunction documents.” A multiple document is one that consists of a primary document with one or more other documents attached to it (a deed with a death certificate attached, for example). A multifunction document is one that does more than a single thing. For example, a single piece of paper that discharges three different mortgages would be a multifunction document. Despite codifying this as one of our indexing standards, there still was a great deal of confusion and inconsistancy on this issue. The registries agreed to compile lists of specific document combinations that would trigger these categories, treating them like we do documents that must be notarized. If it’s not on the list, it’s not a multiple document. We expect that final result of this will be implemented on July 1, 2006.