(a)

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class E felony1 to 6 yearsup to $3,000
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-17-116

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Property: means anything of value, including, but not limited to, money, real estate, tangible or intangible personal property, including anything severed from land, library material, contract rights, choses-in-action, interests in or claims to wealth, credit, admission or transportation tickets, captured or domestic animals, food and drink, electric or other power. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
(1) It is an offense for any person to knowingly cause to be prepared, sign, or file records of any property transfer document when the transferor, grantor or person applying for registration knows or should know by an examination of the public records, that the transferor or grantor has no legal nor equitable interest to convey, or when there is no reasonable basis for assumption that the transferor or grantor has any interest in the property.
(2) As used in this subsection (a), “person” includes any individual, corporation, firm, company, partnership, or association.
(b) Upon a final conviction for an offense pursuant to this section, any court having or exercising circuit court jurisdiction may order the filing of an order of said court declaring the offending transfer document or documents to be void and of no legal effect and removing any cloud on the title that may have arisen because of said documents.
(c) This section shall not be applicable to any licensed attorney who, in good faith, prepares such a transfer document in the course of representation of a client.
(d) A violation of subsection (a) shall be a Class E felony.