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Montgomery County recorder outlines deed‑fraud prevention, free notarization and veterans ID programs
Summary
Montgomery County Recorder Lori Kennedy described a deed‑fraud pre‑check program, free notary services, a fraud‑alert sign‑up (3,200 homes enrolled), and a Transfer‑on‑Death option to ease probate; staff reported prosecutions and property recoveries.
Montgomery County Recorder Lori Kennedy told Riverside City Council on Aug. 18 her office is focusing on deed‑fraud prevention and outreach, offering free notary services and a fraud‑alert sign‑up that she said has enrolled about 3,200 homes since she took office in January.
Kennedy said her office now notarizes roughly 100 documents per month at no cost and has added two notaries with a third in process. She described a pre‑fraud review with the county auditor’s office for quick‑claim deeds: the auditor will hold quick‑claim deeds for a pre‑fraud stamp before transferring them to the recorder’s office for recording. Kennedy said the pre‑check includes verifying notary status with the secretary of state, reviewing preparer statements and checking signatures.
“We are working closely with prosecutor Matt Heck to successfully prosecute individuals who steal homes through fraudulent quick‑claim deeds,” Kennedy said, and she told council staff and residents that prosecutors recently secured returns of property and jail sentences in recent cases.
Kate Baker, programs coordinator in the recorder’s office, urged Riverside residents to sign up for the recorder’s free fraud‑alert notification system: “We have a deed fraud problem in our county. I’m coming to you to please ask you to help us,” she said. Baker described multiple notification channels (mail and email now, text messaging coming later) and demonstrated a QR code and paper sign‑up form.
Kennedy also described a Transfer‑on‑Death instrument as a lower‑cost alternative to a trust: “For less than $50 it could be recorded and then once the person passes, the heir will file an affidavit and the house will be theirs,” she said. The office also issues free veteran ID cards with an honorable discharge (DD‑214) and plans a veterans outreach event Sept. 11 at the Hubert Heights YMCA; the recorder’s office website is www.mcrecorder.org.
Staff and council members raised process questions about how quickly deeds show on the auditor’s website and about e‑recording; Kennedy said e‑recording is being pursued and will be discussed with the county auditor, and that turnaround depends on the auditor’s backlog. She told council that when she took office there were about 50 active deed‑fraud files and that 16–20 new incidents had appeared in the past six months.
Kennedy asked council to help publicize sign‑ups and outreach to reduce the county’s incidence of fraudulent transfers.
