An estate planning client of ours who had recently been in to update her estate plan, contacted us regarding a “DEED PROCESSING NOTICE” she just received in the mail. Interestingly enough, the client had changed the title to her property as part of the estate plan update. The layout of the notice looks very much like something you would receive from the county or state and lists the property details including the address, square footage, year built and parcel identification number. It states that the recipient should have a copy of their deed, shows an amount due of $83.00 and a “compliance response date” which of course, is quickly approaching. THIS IS A SCAM!
You can print out a copy of your deed for free from your own computer. Go to the Lee County Clerk’s website at www.leeclerk.org and click on public records. Searches are available by name or parcel identification number. You can also pull up a deed by going to the county property appraiser’s website at www.leepa.org, search under owner information, scroll down to deeds/transaction and click on the appropriate transaction. The property appraiser’s office then links to the county clerk’s site.
