Oklahoma Code § 16-53

Oklahoma Code § 16-53. Reproduced from the official Oklahoma Statutes, with a citation summary, verification link, and related provisions.

§ 16-53.

Recorded signed documents - Rebuttable presumptions.

EVIDENTIARY EFFECT OF RECORDED DOCUMENT

A. A recorded signed document relating to title to real estate

creates a rebuttable presumption with respect to the title that:

1. The document is genuine and was executed as the voluntary

act of the person purporting to execute it;

2. The person executing the document and the person on whose

behalf it is executed are the persons they are purported to be and

the person executing it was neither incompetent nor a minor at any

relevant time;

3. Delivery occurred notwithstanding a lapse of time between

dates on the document and the date of recording;

4. Any necessary consideration was given;

5. The grantee, transferee, or beneficiary of an interest

created or claimed by the document acted in good faith at all

relevant times up to and including the time of the recording;

6. A person purporting to act as an attorney-in-fact pursuant

to a recorded power of attorney held the position he purported to

hold and acted within the scope of his authority. It shall also be

presumed that the principal was alive and was neither incompetent

nor a minor at any relevant time;

7. A person purporting to act as:

a.

one of the officers listed in Section 93 of Title 16

of the Oklahoma Statutes on behalf of a corporation,

b.

a partner of a general partnership,

c.

a general partner of a limited partnership,

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 16. Conveyances

d.

e.

f.

a manager of a limited liability company,

a trustee of a trust,

any officer or member of the board of trustees of a

religious corporation,

g.

a court-appointed trustee, receiver, personal

representative, guardian, conservator, or other

fiduciary, or

h.

an officer or member of any other entity,

held the position he purported to hold, acted within the scope of

his authority (unless limitations of authority were previously filed

of record and indexed against the property in question), and the

authorization satisfied all requirements of law;

8. All entities that are parties to the document are in good

standing in their jurisdiction of organization;

9. If the document purports to be executed pursuant to or to be

a final determination in a judicial or administrative proceeding, or

to be executed pursuant to a power of eminent domain, the court,

official body, or condemnor was acting within its jurisdiction and

all steps required for the execution of the title document were

taken;

10. Recitals and other statements of fact in a conveyance are

true if the matter stated was relevant to the purpose of the

document;

11. Persons named in, signing, or acknowledging the document

and persons named in, signing, or acknowledging another related

document in a chain of title are identical, if the persons appear in

those conveyances under identical names, or under variants thereof,

including inclusion, exclusion, or use of:

a.

commonly recognized abbreviations, contractions,

initials, or colloquial or other equivalents,

b.

first or middle names or initials,

c.

simple transpositions that produce substantially

similar pronunciations,

d.

articles or prepositions in names or titles,

e.

descriptions of entities as corporations, companies or

abbreviations or contractions of either, or

f.

name suffixes, such as Senior or Junior, unless other

information appears of record indicating that they are

different persons; and

12. All other requirements for its execution, delivery, and

validity have been satisfied.

B. The presumptions stated in subsection A of this section

arise even if the document purports only to release a claim or

convey any right, title, or interest of the person executing it or

the person on whose behalf it is executed.

C. If presumptions created by subsection A of this section are

inconsistent, the presumption applies that is founded upon weightier

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 16. Conveyances

considerations of policy. If considerations of policy are of equal

weight, neither presumption applies.

Added by Laws 1994, c. 238, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.

Source: official Oklahoma text · Last verified 2026-08-27

At a glance

  • Citation: Oklahoma Statutes § 16-53
  • Jurisdiction: Oklahoma
  • Code: Oklahoma Statutes
  • Text: transcribed from the official source (verify below)

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Statute text is transcribed from the official Oklahoma Statutes. Confirm it against the primary source before relying on it:

Not legal advice. Verify against the official source and consult a licensed Oklahoma attorney.

Common questions

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