June flood victims can temporarily get free copy of their deed in Wayne County

Wayne County residents impacted by the June 25 flooding can temporarily get free copies of their deeds to assist them with applying for disaster relief.

With many still recovering from the damage more than a month ago and an often-confusing claims process, Wayne County Register of Deeds Bernard Youngblood hopes this move will ease some of the stress.

He said he's not going to check to verify who is or isn't a flood victim, but trusts that people will be honest.

"Well, I don't know whether or not they're flood victims," Youngblood said. "And that's not my concern at this point. My concern is to help the people that are flood victims and it's the honor system right now."

Deeds, which usually cost a few bucks, are important for the process of making claims for insurance companies or applying for relief through FEMA.

The register of deeds office is not funded by the county budget, Youngblood said, so this was entirely his decision. He said he doesn't know how long this temporary policy will last, and the demand for it will dictate the timeframe.

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"They've got enough pain and suffering right now, we don't need to add anything to them," he said. "Hopefully we can get this out in a quick timeframe that'll assist them and ease some of their burdens."

Contact Emma Stein: [email protected].

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