RS 504 - Conditions for issuance of patent
No patent shall issue for any lands entered under the provisions of this Part until after the expiration of five years from the date of the entry. The person making the entry or in case of his death his heirs or devisees shall be entitled to a patent for the land so entered if, at the expiration of the five year period or at a time within two years thereafter he proves by his affidavit and the affidavits of two credible witnesses, taken separately, that he has resided upon and cultivated the land for the term of five years immediately succeeding the date of entry, that no part of the land has been alienated or encumbered, except as provided in R.S. 41:503 and that he has paid to the register of the state land office a fee of five dollars. In case of the death of a homesteader it shall not be necessary for his widow or heirs to prove actual residence upon the land after the date of death, but she shall show continuous cultivation and improvements for the full period of five years from date of entry. Provided that any entry made prior to 1888 and the land described therein has been assessed upon the tax rolls and the taxes thereon paid for a period of more than fifty years subsequent to the date of entry, shall be prima facie evidence that all the conditions and provisions of the law have been complied with and a patent shall issue covering the entry upon the payment of the fee herein provided.
Amended by Acts 1950, No. 428, §1.