§ 5-312. Validation of religious corporations and unfiled, lost, or destroyed plans or articles of incorporation

   (a) Effect of filing plan or articles of incorporation after statutory period. -- If any church organized since 1800 as a religious corporation under any law of the State did not file its plan or articles of incorporation for record in the proper office within the time required by law, but subsequently files its plan or articles of incorporation in the proper office:

   (1) The church is a lawful religious corporation;

   (2) The date of incorporation is the date of the plan or articles of incorporation; and

   (3) If otherwise lawful, every action of the church from the date of incorporation is valid.

(b) Presumption of proper filing. -- There is a conclusive presumption in every court of the State that a plan or articles of incorporation of a religious corporation were properly filed for record in the appropriate office and that these records were lost or destroyed, if:

   (1) It appears from the record book of the religious corporation or from any other source that the church adopted a valid plan or articles of incorporation; and

   (2) There is no book or record in the appropriate office for recording the plan or the articles of incorporation of religious corporations.

(c) Filing unfiled or lost plan or articles of incorporation. -- Any plan or articles of incorporation entitled to the presumption under subsection (b) of this section, shall be filed with the Department and, if the original cannot be found, the Department may record the plan or articles of incorporation from the record book of the religious corporation.

HISTORY: An. Code 1957, art. 23, § 268; 1975, ch. 311, § 2.