What Does Title Insurance Protect Me From?

A forgery 20, 40 or even 50 years ago
A deed that was executed under duress
Bigamy that went unknown
An error by a clerk in the county’s recording office
A tax payment that was misapplied
A deed that was executed by a minor, which may be disavowed
A forged satisfaction of mortgage or other lien
A corporate deed that was not authorized under the corporate by-laws or by proper corporate resolution
A corporate deed that was executed by an unauthorized party
An undisclosed but recorded federal or state tax lien
A forged mortgage
Discovery of will of supposed intestate individual, after probate
An adverse claim of vendor’s lien
An undisclosed but recorded judgment, spousal support lien or child support lien
Ambiguous covenants or restrictions in ancient documents
A claim resulting from the misinterpretation of a will, deed or other instrument
An undisclosed but recorded prior mortgage
A forged deed
An undisclosed but recorded notice of pending lawsuit affecting land
A conveyance by heir or survivor of a joint estate who murdered the decedent
An undisclosed but recorded environmental lien
A deed that was executed by a person who is insane or mentally incompetent
An undisclosed but recorded option, or right of first refusal, to purchase property
An adverse claim of equitable lien
A claim resulting from use of an alias by a predecessor in title
A partnership deed that was not authorized under partnership agreement
A forged release
An undisclosed but recorded covenants or restrictions, with (or without) rights of reverter
A deed affecting property of deceased person, not joining all heirs
A defective acknowledgment due to lack of authority of notary
A trustee’s deed that was not authorized under a trust agreement
A deed to land with improvements encroaching upon land of another
A forged release
A deed from a legal nonentity
A deed by person in a foreign country challengable as defective under foreign laws
An undisclosed but recorded easements (for access, utilities, drainage, airspace, views) benefiting neighboring land
An undisclosed but recorded boundary, party wall, or setback agreements
A corporate deed executed before incorporation or after loss of corporate charter
A deed following nonjudicial foreclosure, where required proper procedure was not followed
An erroneous reports furnished by tax officials
A special assessments which become liens upon passage of a law or ordinance, but before recorded notice or commencement of improvements of which assessment is made
A claim resulting from the discovery of later will after probate of first will
A deed executed under power of attorney after principal dies
A claim resulting from use of fictitious name by a predecessor in title
A deed following nonjudicial foreclosure in which proper procedure was not followed
A ineffective release of prior mortgage or lien, as fraudulently obtained by predecessor in title
A deed signed by mistake such as grantor did not know what he was signing
An undisclosed divorce of one who conveys as sole heir of a deceased former spouse
A deed executed under undue influence
An erroneous or inadequate legal description
A disputed release of prior mortgage or lien, as given under mistake or misunderstanding
A deed to land without a right of access to a public street or road
A ineffective subordination agreement causing junior interest to be reinstated to priority
A deed recorded but not properly indexed so as to be locatable in the land records
An erroneous release of tax or assessment liens, which are later reinstated to the tax rolls
A deed to land with legal access subject to undisclosed but recorded conditions or restrictions
A right of access wiped out by foreclosure on neighboring land
A deed executed under falsified or expired power of attorney
A conveyance void as in violation of public policy, such as payment of gambling debt, payment for contract to commit crime, or conveyance made in restraint of trade
A deed to land including wetlands that are subject to public trust
An ineffective release of prior satisfied mortgage due to acquisition of note by bona-fide purchaser
A deed from government entity that is vulnerable to challenge as unauthorized or unlawful
A forged witness acknowledgement
A deed affecting land in judicial proceedings like bankruptcy, receivership, probate, conservatorship, dissolution of marriage and unauthorized by court
A deed following judicial proceedings subject to appeal or further court order
A conveyance or proceeding affecting the rights of service member protected by the Service-Members Civil Relief Act
A deed executed without joining necessary parties
An ineffective release of prior satisfied mortgage due to bankruptcy of creditor prior to recording of release
A deed following administration of estate of missing person who later reappears
A deed not properly recorded, such as wrong county, missing pages or other contents
A defect in a recorded document, like missing pages or legal description
A deed recorded without proper payment
An error in the tax record
A deed from grantor who is claimed to have acquired title through fraud upon creditors of a prior owner
A forged notarization
A deed affecting property purported to be separate property of grantor, which is in fact community or jointly owned property

These are just a few examples of what title insurance protects you from. Do you want a problem that occurred long before you bought your property to deprive you of ownership, your right to use the property, your right to refinance or build on the property or your right to dispose of the property? Do you don’t want to pay the potentially high cost of defending your property rights in court?

Mortgage Lenders require Lender’s Policies to protect their interest in properties the have mortgages on. An Owner’s Policy is what protects your interest in the property as the property’s owner. For a one-time premium, you receive a policy protecting you against covered losses suffered due to undetected defects that existed prior to the issue date of your policy, up to the amount of the policy.