See also: ANCIENT DOCUMENTS; ATTESTATION
AUTHENTICATION; CONVEYANCES
MORTGAGES; OFFICIAL RECORDS AND REPORTS
PAROL EVIDENCE–Title in Trust; RECORDED INSTRUMENTS
TRUSTS.

1.  Authentication

In state courts, ancient documents which convey an interest in property, such as deeds, carry a presumption of authenticity if they are established as being at least thirty years old, appear to be authentic on their face, and were kept or found in a place where an authentic document of that nature would likely be found.{footnote}See ANCIENT DOCUMENTS.{/footnote}  Some states also require proof of "proper custody" and that the document had been accepted as true by persons having an interest in the property.{footnote}See ANCIENT DOCUMENTS.{/footnote}

Under the federal rules, a document or data compilation twenty years old is considered sufficiently authenticated so long as there is nothing unusual or suspicious about its condition or where it was found.{footnote}FRE 901(b)(8). See ANCIENT DOCUMENTS.{/footnote} 

A certified copy of a deed from the public office in which it is recorded is deemed self-authenticating.{footnote}See OFFICIAL RECORDS AND REPORTS–Authentication: Certified Copies.{/footnote} 

2. As Hearsay

Recorded deeds are admissible under a hearsay exception for recorded instruments.{footnote}FRE 803(14).  See RECORDED INSTRUMENTS.{/footnote}

Under FRE 803(15) and its state counterparts, there is an exception to the hearsay rule for statements in documents such as deeds that relate to property:

The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule, even though the declarant is available as a witness:

*  *  *
A statement contained in a document purporting to establish or affect an interest in property if the matter stated was relevant to the purpose of the document, unless dealings with the property since the document was made have been inconsistent with the truth of the statement or the purport of the document. {footnote}FRE 803(15).
McGuire v. Walker, 423 S.E.2d 617, 618 (W. Va. 1992).{/footnote}

The statement must be relevant to the purpose of the deed, and dealings with the deeded property after the deed was created must not have been inconsistent with the offered statement or the purpose of the deed.{footnote}FRE 803(15).{/footnote}  There is no age requirement for the document.{footnote}2 J. W. Strong, et al., McCormick on Evidence § 323 at 361 (4th ed. 1992) (“The circumstances under which documents of this nature are executed, the character of the statements that will qualify, and the inapplicability of this exception if subsequent dealings have been inconsistent with the truth of the statement or the purport of the document, are considered sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness.")
{/footnote}

Some states require that the deed have been in existence for many years (generally twenty or thirty).{footnote}Busken v. AmSouth Bank, N.A., 504 So. 2d 231, 233 (Ala. 1987) (thirty years).
Check Johnston v. Masterson, 73 N.E.2d 401 (Ill. 1947) (thirty years); Check Perry v. Parker, 141 A.2d 883 (N.H. 1958) . {/footnote}  The thirty years is measured to the date of trial, not when suit was filed.{footnote}Reuter v. Stuckart, 54 N.E. 1014 (Ill. 1899).{/footnote}  Note that the legally operative language in such instruments is not hearsay.  See HEARSAY–Statements Having Legal Effect.

3.  Parol Evidence

Parol evidence is admissible to show that a deed or conveyance was intended to be as security for an indebtedness, rather than absolute.{footnote}Annotation, 111 A.L.R. 448.{/footnote}