Missing acts leave legal gap years after notary’s death

A notary who died without heirs more than a decade ago has left the authorities struggling to locate his official acts and wills, possibly making it harder for people to prove property ownership in court.

Paul Tabone Adami began working as a notary in 1989 and continued to practise until he died in 2010. However, upon his death, his acts were not deposited at the notarial archives and a notary keeper was never appointed to keep custody of his deeds. This is making it difficult for notaries to obtain his original legal acts, including wills and property transfers.

Missing acts can have serious implications on inheritance and property transfers. One notary explained to Times of Malta that a missing deed makes it harder to prove succession or ownership in court.

“Once a notarial deed is signed, it is extremely difficult to successfully convince a court of law that the transfer did not take place. If the original deed, with the signature of the parties and the notary, is lost, then it becomes virtually impossible for acquirers to successfully defend claims against their ownership of property.”

By law, when a notary dies or leaves office, their acts must be deposited at the notarial archives, unless someone has been appointed by the court of revision of notarial acts.

After legal amendments in 2010, the acts of all notaries must be deposited with the notarial archives every year. File photos

A person who keeps custody of another notary’s acts or registers is a notary keeper. These keepers are still notaries by profession and exercise the same duties over the original notary’s acts as they do their own.

In the case of Tabone Adami, a keeper was never appointed to his acts. He also did not leave behind any heirs who could deposit his deeds on his behalf.

The office of the notary to the government confirmed that no heirs ever came forward to deposit Tabone Adami’s acts. “The main difficulty remains identifying the heirs and the location of the documents. Any persons able to assist are encouraged to contact the office,” a spokesperson said.

Since Tabone Adami’s death, more robust procedures have been put in place to prevent such situations. Now, the Notarial Council appoints reviewing officers to collect and inspect notarial acts annually and deposit them at the notarial archives.

The office is also carrying out a collection exercise on acts published before 2013 that were not previously deposited and is trying to secure the archives of deceased and inactive notaries.

“At present, the office is not aware of other missing volumes. However, the current review process is designed to identify and flag any such cases should they arise,” it said.