Marvin Mandel, Governor                       1939

Reese and Green, "That Elusive Word, 'Residence'", 6 Vand. L. Rev.
561 (1953). Judge Chesnut, after a discussion of many opinions in
the Court of Appeals of Maryland, concluded:

"The meaning of the word 'resident' varies with the context
and subject matter. When used in connection with the exercise
of political rights it may have a different connotation from that
given it when it is used to determine property rights."

Suit v. Shailer, 18 F. Supp. 568, 571 (D. Md. 1937).

The Courts have had enormous difficulty in defining "resident"
and "non-resident," even within the same context. The treatise,
Words and Phrases, devotes over 50 pages, citing approximately 440
cases, to the word "resident" and another 19 pages, citing approxi-
mately 175 cases, to denning "non-resident." Under Maryland law,
there are, for example, various distinctions in the definition of a
"resident" for purposes of adoption, divorce, jurisdiction, taxation,
voting, and about 15 other subjects.

A bizarre feature of Senate Bill 209 is that it does not even
attempt to pick out one of the many definitions of "resident" or
"non-resident" which already are contained in the Maryland Code.
See also on this subject, Beale, "Residence and Domicil," 4 Iowa L.
Bull. 3 (1918); 1 Beale, Conflict of Laws 109-22 (1935); Kennan,
Residence and Domicil, (1934) (collection of 100 cases in American
Courts which hold definitely that residence and domicil are synony-
mous, and another hundred cases to the effect that they are not
synonymous).

III.

One cannot always hope for completely unambiguous statutes.
However, in the area of real property law, it is essential that statutes
be drafted with clarity. If they are not drafted with clarity, sub-
stantial problems relating to the marketability of title will be created.
Because Senate Bill 209 uses a term—"non-resident"—which is not
defined and which is one of the most ambiguous terms in legal par-
lance, real estate lawyers and title companies have already expressed
the opinion that Senate Bill 209 will create insuperable difficulties.

A.    How is the title searcher to know whether the trustee of a
deed of trust is a resident of Maryland or is not a resident of Mary-
land?

B.    Even if the person who prepares the deed of trust recites
that the trustee is a resident of Maryland, is the title searcher to
make an independent inquiry to determine whether in fact the trustee
was a resident of the State of Maryland?

C.    If the trustee was not a resident of Maryland, are all acts
taken by the trustee invalid? For example, would the purchaser at
a foreclosure sale from a non-resident trustee get valid title? Would
a release signed by a non-resident trustee be valid?

D.    If the trustee changes his residence during the time he is
serving as trustee, what effect will this change have on the trans-
action? If he were a resident when he became a trustee, must he
resign if he moves from Maryland into the District of Columbia?
If he were a resident of the District of Columbia when he became a
trustee, but he subsequently moves to Maryland, will his move cure
any defect?