From Ginny Jones:

"You say the purpose of the front card was to show when and where the original document was "mailed back."  Is there any other purpose?  IF the legal descriptions have been entered in the index (see back copy), what other information do folks need from these cards?  Knowing when a document was "mailed back" to the filer serves no legal or real property purpose I can think of (after a brief period of time - maybe one year), but I may be uninformed."

The most common use of this is tracking down the attorney who handled a sale several years back when a couple bought the property and then only one sold it later without identifying what happened to the spouse.  Often attorneys have such information in their files but it never gets recorded.  Also sometimes old mortgages are paid off without anything being filed in our office.  These cards also help track down information in such cases.  Nowadays our state law requires the "prepared by" information on the face of the document, so it's not as critical now.  Thanks for asking!  

Tim Barnard, Records Management Clerk
Harrison County, Mississippi
[log in to unmask]
Phone (228) 865-4121 Fax (228) 865-4140

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance