Pursuant to G.L. ch. 183 § 55(i) a mortgage discharge, assignment or partial release may be accepted for registration if there is contained in the document a recitation as to any merger, consolidation, amendment, conversion or acquisition of assets causing a change in name or identity of the entity executing the document without further documentation. Such a recitation does not and cannot cure a situation involving an unregistered assignment.
The use of the phrase "formerly known as" shall be interpreted as a name change unless there is reason to believe it is being used for another purpose. The registry districts will contact the Chief Title Examiner or his or her designee whenever a question regarding this phrase arises.
If there is no recital in the document, or the document is not covered by the statute, as an alternative method of proving the succession of bank interests, a certificate of a Massachusetts attorney may be submitted to and approved by the Chief Title Examiner or his or her designee. The certificate should identify the registered documents and/or certificate(s) of title to be affected by the proffered new documents, the names and identities of the lender entities involved, the complete line of merger, acquisition and changes of name to show an unbroken line connecting the record title holder to the party to the proffered instrument.
The Court recognizes the increasing availability of reliable, verifiable information that may be obtained on the Internet and in particular the information that may be obtained with respect to bank mergers, acquisitions and changes of names that may be available on the FDIC Institution Directory, the National Credit Union Association, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. A certification by a member in good standing of the bar of Massachusetts which sufficiently sets forth a chain of succession of a bank and/or name change(s), and which has attached to it copies printed currently from the web site of the governing regulatory body for such institution may be submitted to the Chief Title Examiner or his or her designee, and, if approved, may be registered and filed with the Registry District with the proffered document, in the same manner and with the same effect as a Certificate from the Comptroller of the Currency.