43-31-17.   Execution by husband and wife necessary for conveyance or encumbrance--Exception for prisoner of war or missing in action. A conveyance or encumbrance of a homestead by its owner, if married and both husband and wife are residents of this state, is valid if both husband and wife concur in and sign or execute such conveyance or encumbrance either by joint instrument or by separate instruments. However, for the sole purpose of a spouse of a person in the armed forces making application for a home loan under 38 U.S.C. 1701, et seq., the signature of the spouse alone is sufficient to convey or encumber the homestead if the person in the armed forces is officially declared to be: missing in action, captured in line of duty by a hostile force, or forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by a foreign government or power.

Source: SL 1874-5, ch 51, § 3; PolC 1877, ch 38, § 3; CL 1887, § 2451; SL 1891, ch 77, § 1; RPolC 1903, §§ 3217, 3219; RC 1919, § 451; SL 1921, ch 255; SDC 1939, § 51.1703; SL 1972, ch 234; SL 1983, ch 13, § 24.

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