What does title insurance protect you from? A lot.

There are few things in life more important than protecting your home. The following matters are examples of why you need a title insurance policy. Remember that the best title examination or search cannot protect your equity and home from matters not appearing in the public records. However, a title policy can protect you from:

     • Documents executed under false, revoked or expired powers of attorney

     • False impersonation of the true land owner

     • Undisclosed heirs

     • Improperly recorded legal documents

     • Prescriptive rights in another not appearing of record and not disclosed by survey

     • Failure to include necessary parties to certain judicial proceedings

     • Defective acknowledgements due to improper or expired notarization

     • Corporate franchise taxes as liens on corporate real estate assets

     • Gaps in the chain of title

     • Mistakes and omissions resulting in improper abstracting

     • Forged deeds, mortgages, wills, releases of mortgages and other instruments

     • Deeds by minors

     • Deeds which appear absolute, but which are held to be equitable mortgages

     • Conveyances by an heir, devisee or survivor of a joint estate who attempts to attain title by ill-gotten means

     • Inadequate legal descriptions

     • Conveyances by undisclosed divorced spouses

     • Duress in execution of wills, deeds and instruments conveying or establishing title

     • Issues involving delivery of conveyancing instruments

     • Deeds and wills by persons lacking legal capacity

     • State inheritance and gift tax liens

     • Errors in tax records

     • Demolition and substandard building liens

     • Administration of estates and probate of wills of missing persons who are presumed deceased

     • Issues of rightful possession of the land

     • Issues concerning the rightful conveyances by corporate entities

     • Deeds and mortgages by foreigners who may lack legal capacity to hold title

     • Legal capacity of foreign personal representatives and trustees

     • Issues involving improper marital status

     • Improper modification of documents

     • Rights of divorced parties

     • Conveyances in violation of public policy

     • Misinterpretation of wills and ancillary instruments

     • Deeds by persons falsely representing their marital status

     • Claims by creditors of decedent against property improperly conveyed by heirs and devisees

     • Issues concerning unlawful takings by eminent domain or condemnation

     • Special tax assessments

     • Real estate homestead exceptions

     • Forfeitures of real property due to criminal acts

     • Issues concerning adoption of children

     • Conveyances and proceedings affecting rights of military personnel protected by the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act

     • Issues concerning interests noted in financial statements filed under Uniform Commercial Code

     • Interests arising by deeds of fictitious parties

     • Adverse possession

     • Lack of jurisdiction or competency of persons in judicial proceedings

     • Community property issues

     • Utility easements

     • False affidavits of death or heirship

     • Intestate estates

     • Probate matters

     • Federal estate and gift tax liens

*Subject to certain limitations set forth in the policy.