Wyoming Assignment of Mortgage by Corporate Mortgage Holder

Assignments Generally: Lenders, or holders of mortgages or deeds of trust, often assign mortgages or deeds of trust to other lenders, or third parties. When this is done the assignee (person who received the assignment) steps into the place of the original lender or assignor. To effectuate an assignment, the general rule is that the assignment must be in proper written format and recorded to provide notice of the assignment.

Satisfactions Generally:

Once a mortgage or deed of trust is paid, the holder of the mortgage is required to satisfy the mortgage or deed of trust of record to show that the mortgage or deed of trust is no longer a lien on the property. The general rule is that the satisfaction must be in proper written format and recorded to provide notice of the satisfaction. If the lender fails to record a satisfaction within set time limits, the lender may be responsible for damages set by statute for failure to timely cancel the lien. Depending on your state, a satisfaction may be called a Satisfaction, Cancellation, or Reconveyance. Some states still recognize marginal satisfaction but this is slowly being phased out. A marginal satisfaction is where the holder of the mortgage physically goes to the recording office and enters a satisfaction on the face of the the recorded mortgage, which is attested by the clerk.

Wyoming Law

Execution of Assignment or Satisfaction:

To be executed and acknowledged by Mortgagee.

Assignment:

An assignment must be in writing and recorded.

Demand to Satisfy:

Upon full payoff, written request by mortgagor may be sent to mortgagee by registered or ceritified mail, requesting satisfaction, whereupon the mortgagee must record satisfaction within 30 days.

Recording Satisfaction:

Mortgagee shall, within 30 days after receiving written request for satisfaction, execute and acknowledge a deed of discharge if there has been full performance of the mortgage.

Marginal Satisfaction:

Any mortgage or deed of trust shall be discharged upon the record thereof ... and the county clerk shall make a reference to such release upon the margin of the record of the mortgage or trust deed.

Penalty:

A mortgagee who fails to discharge a mortgage within the 30 day period following notice is liable to the mortgagor or his assignees for actual damages resulting from the failure and special damages in the amount of one-tenth of one percent (.10%) of the original principal amount of the mortgage for each additional day (maximum of $100 per day) after the 30 day period until the mortgage is discharged.

Acknowledgment:

An assignment or satisfaction must contain a proper Wyoming acknowledgment, or other acknowledgment approved by Statute.

Wyoming Statutes

34-1-130. County clerk to discharge mortgage or deed of trust on record when certificate of release recorded.

Any mortgage or deed of trust shall be discharged upon the record thereof, by the county clerk in whose custody it shall be, or in whose office it is recorded, when there shall be recorded in his office a certificate or deed of release executed by the mortgagee, trustee or beneficiary, his assignee or legally authorized representative, or by a title agent or title insurer ... acknowledged or proven and certified as by law prescribed to entitle conveyances to be recorded, specifying that such mortgage or deed of trust has been paid or otherwise satisfied or discharged, and the county clerk shall make a reference to such release upon the margin of the record of the mortgage or trust deed.

34-1-131. Force and effect of section 34-1-130 on mortgages and deeds of trust executed and deeds of trust discharged prior to act.

The preceding section [§ 34-1-130], as hereby amended, shall apply to all mortgages and deeds of trust, heretofore as well as those which may be hereafter, executed and the release or discharge of any deed of trust heretofore made in accordance with said section, by the trustee named in said deed of trust or his successor, is hereby legalized and declared to be as binding upon all parties in interest as though such release or discharge had been made after the passage of this act.

34-1-132. Liability of mortgagee for failing to discharge; damage limitations; definition.

(a) A mortgagee shall, within thirty (30) days after having received by certified or registered mail a request in writing for the discharge or release of a mortgage, execute and acknowledge a certificate or deed of discharge or release of the mortgage if there has been full performance of the condition of the mortgage and if there is no other written agreement between the mortgagee and mortgagor encumbering the property subject to the mortgage.

(b) A mortgagee who fails or refuses to discharge or release a mortgage within the thirty (30) day period required by subsection (a) of this section is liable to the mortgagor or his assignees for:

(i) All actual damages resulting from the mortgagee's failure or refusal to discharge or release the mortgage; and

(ii) Special damages in the amount of one-tenth of one percent (.10%) of the original principal amount of the mortgage for each additional day after the thirty (30) day period until the mortgage is released or discharged. Special damages authorized by this paragraph shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day.

(c) Notwithstanding any assignment of the mortgage, the mortgagee of record is liable for the damages specified in subsection (b) of this section unless, within sixty (60) days after receipt of the request for discharge or release as provided by subsection (a) of this section, he furnishes to the person making the request the name and address of the current assignee or holder of the mortgage who has legal authority to execute the discharge or release.

(d) As used in this section "mortgagee" means the mortgagee named in the original mortgage or, if assigned, the current holder of the mortgage or the servicing agent for the current holder of the mortgage.

34-1-142. Instrument transferring title to real property; procedure; exceptions; confidentiality.

(a) When a deed, contract or other document transferring legal or equitable title to real property is presented to a county clerk for recording, the instrument shall be accompanied by a statement under oath by the grantee or his agent disclosing the name of the grantor and grantee, the date of transfer, date of sale, a legal description of the property transferred, the actual full amount paid or to be paid for the property, terms of sale and an estimate of the value of any nonreal property included in the sale.

(b) No instrument evidencing a transfer of real property may be accepted for recording until the sworn statement is received by the county clerk. The validity or effectiveness of an instrument as between the parties is not affected by the failure to comply with subsection (a) of this section.

(c) This section does not apply to:

(i) An instrument which confirms, corrects, modifies or supplements a previously recorded instrument without added consideration;

(ii) A transfer pursuant to mergers, consolidations or reorganizations of business entities;

(iii) A transfer by a subsidiary corporation to its parent corporation without actual consideration or in sole consideration of the cancellation or surrender of a subsidiary stock;

(iv) A transfer which constitutes a gift of more than one-half (1/2) of the actual value;

(v) A transfer between husband and wife or parent and child with only nominal consideration therefor;

(vi) An instrument the effect of which is to transfer the property to the same party; or

(vii) A sale for delinquent taxes or assessments or a sale or a transfer pursuant to a foreclosure;

(viii) Any other transfers which the state board of equalization and department of revenue exempts upon a finding that the information is not useful or relevant in determining sales-price ratios.

(d) The sworn statements shall be used by the county assessors and the state board of equalization and the department of revenue along with other statements filed only as data in a collection of statistics which shall be used collectively in determining sales-price ratios by county. An individual statement shall not, by itself, be used by the county assessor to adjust the assessed value of any individual property.

(e) The statement is not a public record and shall be held confidential by the county clerk, county assessor, the state board of equalization the department of revenue and when disclosed under subsection (g) of this section, any person wishing to review or contest his property tax assessment or valuation and the county board of equalization. These statements shall not be subject to discovery in any other county or state proceeding.

(f) Repealed by Laws 1991, ch. 174, §3.

(g) Any person or his agent who wishes to review his property tax assessment or who contests his property tax assessment or valuation in a timely manner as provided by law is entitled to review statements of consideration and all other information used by the county assessor in determining the value of the property at issue as provided under W.S. 39-13-109(b)(i). During a review, the county assessor shall disclose information sufficient to permit identification of the real estate parcels used by the county assessor in determining the value of the property at issue and provide the person or his agent papers of all information, including statements of consideration, the assessor relied upon in determining the property value. The county assessor and the contestant shall disclose those statements of consideration to the county board of equalization in conjunction with any hearing before the board with respect to the value or assessment of that property. As used in W.S. 34-1-142 through 34-1-144:

(i) A "review" is considered the initial meetings between the taxpayer and the county assessor's office;

(ii) "Contest" means the filing of a formal appeal pursuant to W.S. 39-13-109(b)(i).

(h) The state board of equalization shall adopt rules and regulations to implement W.S. 34-1-142 and 34-1-143 which shall include forms to be used and which shall be used by county assessors and county clerks.

34-1-143. Information to be furnished to department of revenue and the state board of equalization.

The county clerk shall place the recording data on the statement of consideration paid and deliver the statement to the county assessor. The county assessor shall furnish information from the statements of consideration to the state board of equalization and department of revenue as the board or department shall require, and when disclosed under W.S. 34-1-142(g) and 39-13-109(b)(i), any person or his agent wishing to review or contest his property tax assessment or valuation and the county board of equalization. The county assessor may furnish information from the statements of consideration to a county assessor in another county in this state to be used as provided by law.

34-1-145. Definitions.

(a) As used in W.S. 34-1-145 through 34-1-150:

(i) "Beneficiary" means the record owner of the beneficiary's interest under a trust deed, including successors in interest;

(ii) "Mortgage" means as described in W.S. 34-2-107;

(iii) "Mortgagee" means the record owner of the mortgagee's interest under a mortgage, including a successor in interest;

(iv) "Satisfactory evidence of the full payment of the obligation secured by a trust deed or mortgage" means the original cancelled check or a copy of a cancelled check, showing all endorsements, payable to the beneficiary, servicer or mortgagee and reasonable documentary evidence that the check was to effect full payment under the trust deed or an encumbrance upon the property covered by the trust deed or mortgage;

(v) "Servicer" means a person or entity that collects loan payments on behalf of a beneficiary or mortgagee;

(vi) "Title agent" means a title insurance agent licensed as an organization under W.S. 26-23-316 and bonded as a title abstractor under W.S. 26-23-308 or 33-2-101;

(vii) "Title insurer" means a title insurer authorized to conduct business in the state under the Wyoming Insurance Code;

(viii) "Trust deed" means as described in W.S. 34-3-101.

34-1-146. Reconveyance of trust deed or release of mortgage; procedures; forms.

(a) A title insurer or title agent may reconvey a trust deed or release a mortgage in accordance with the provisions of subsections (b) through (f) of this section if:

(i) The obligation secured by the trust deed or mortgage has been fully paid by the title insurer or title agent; or

(ii) The title insurer or title agent possesses satisfactory evidence of the full payment of the obligation secured by a trust deed or mortgage.

(b) A title insurer or title agent may reconvey a trust deed or release a mortgage under subsection (a) of this section regardless of whether the title insurer or title agent is named as a trustee under a trust deed or has the authority to release a mortgage.

(c) No sooner than thirty (30) days after payment in full of the obligation secured by a trust deed or mortgage, and after notice is given pursuant to W.S. 34-1-132, the title insurer or title agent shall deliver to the beneficiary, mortgagee or servicer, or send by certified mail to the beneficiary, mortgagee or servicer, at the address specified in the trust deed or mortgage or at any address for the beneficiary or mortgagee specified in the last recorded assignment of the trust deed or mortgage a notice of intent to release or reconvey and a copy of the release or reconveyance to be recorded as provided in subsections (d) and (e) of this section.

(d) The notice of intent to release or reconvey shall contain the name of the beneficiary or mortgagee and the servicer if loan payments on the trust deed or mortgage are collected by a servicer, the name of the title insurer or title agent, [and] the date ...

(e) If, within thirty (30) days from the day on which the title insurer or title agent delivered or mailed the notice of intent to release or reconvey in accordance with subsections (c) and (d) of this section, the beneficiary, mortgagee or servicer does not send by certified mail to the title insurer or title agent a notice that the obligation secured by the trust deed or mortgage has not been paid in full or that the beneficiary, mortgagee or servicer objects to the release of the mortgage or reconveyance of the trust deed, the title insurer or title agent may execute, acknowledge and record a reconveyance of a trust deed or release of a mortgage. ...

(f) A release of mortgage or reconveyance of trust deed under this section does not discharge an obligation that was secured by the trust deed or mortgage at the time the trust deed was reconveyed or the mortgage was released.

34-2-113. Cancellation form for mortgage or deed of trust; recordation; effect.

(a) ...

(b) Such cancellation or discharge shall be entered in a book kept for that purpose, and signed by the mortgagee or trustee, his attorney-in-fact, executor, administrator or assigns, in the presence of the county clerk or this deputy who shall subscribe the same as a witness, and such cancellation or discharge shall have the same effect as a deed or release duly acknowledged and recorded.