§ 26-37-310 - Procedure for redeeming land certified to state. - Arkansas Statutes

26-37-310. Procedure for redeeming land certified to state.

(a) All lands or town and city lots sold to the state under any decree or other proceedings had under the provisions of an act entitled "An act to enforce the payment of overdue taxes," Acts 1881, No. 39, approved March 12, 1881 [repealed], and now owned by the state and all lands or town and city lots forfeited and sold to the state for nonpayment of taxes and certified to the Commissioner of State Lands which have not been sold or otherwise disposed of by the state, or which may hereafter be sold and forfeited to the state, and certified as aforesaid, may, until disposed of by the state, be redeemed by the person owning the land or lot at the time of forfeiture, or by his heirs or assigns, in the manner provided by subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section.

(b) Any person, or his agent or attorney, desiring to redeem any land or town or city lots under the provisions of this section shall first pay to the Treasurer of State an amount or sum of money equal to the taxes for which the land or town or city lots desired to be redeemed were sold, together with penalties and costs and all expenses paid by the state in acquiring title to the land or town or city lots under such forfeiture for taxes and all state and county taxes that would have subsequently accrued thereon had they remained on the tax books subject to taxation.

(c) The Commissioner, upon application by any person desiring to redeem any lands or town or city lots under this section, shall furnish the person a statement, showing the amount of money that will be required to be paid to the State Treasurer under subsection (b) of this section for the redemption of the lands or town or city lots sought to be redeemed.

(d) Before any person shall be permitted to redeem any lands or town or city lots mentioned in subsection (a) of this section, the person, or his agent or attorney, shall present and file with the Commissioner a verified petition stating that they, or the parties under whom they hold, owned the lands or town or city lots desired to be redeemed at the time they were forfeited for taxes. They shall also file with the petition a receipt, in duplicate, from the State Treasurer showing the payment of the amount of money necessary to redeem the lands or town or city lots sought to be redeemed as required by subsection (b) of this section.

(e) The Commissioner may require other evidence than the petition to establish the facts therein set forth, and the petitioner may take proof by affidavit or otherwise as the Commissioner may direct.

(f) If the Commissioner finds the facts set forth in the petition to be true and that the amount of money necessary to redeem the lands sought to be redeemed has been paid to the State Treasurer as required by subsection (b) of this section, he shall, by deed of release and quitclaim under his hand and official seal, convey to the person redeeming the lands or town or city lots all of the right, title, and interest of the state in and to the lands or town or city lots acquired under any forfeiture, sale, or condemnation for taxes. For this deed, the Commissioner shall receive one dollar ($1.00), to be paid by the party applying to redeem the lands or lots.

(g) The Commissioner shall file with the Auditor of State one (1) of the receipts executed by the State Treasurer and presented with the petition required by subsection (d) of this section and shall keep the other receipt on file in his office. The Commissioner shall forward a copy of the deed executed by him under subsection (f) of this section to the clerk of the county court of the county in which the land or lot conveyed by the deed is situated.

(h) After the reception of the deed of the Commissioner, the clerk shall extend on the tax book against the land or lot the taxes other than state and county for the years that the taxes have not been paid since the sale of the land or lot to the state, and these taxes shall be charged and collected as other taxes.

(i) The proceeds of all redemptions of forfeited lands which may hereafter be made under subsections (a)-(e) of this section shall be divided equally between the county where the lands are situated and the state, and paid over in the manner as required and provided in this section.