Land service
Title curative services
After an attorney reviews title, the opinion usually lists things to fix before drilling or paying owners. Curative is the work of fixing them, one at a time, and keeping a record of what is done.
The hard files
Curative is a specialty for us, not an add-on. We take on gaps in the chain, missing probates, old mortgages that were never released and names that do not match, and we work them through to a recorded instrument. Software helps us find every place in a chain where a name or description changes. A person decides how each item gets fixed, and our network of landmen means a requirement in another state still has someone to work it.
What it covers
- Requirement tracking. Each requirement gets a line with the instrument needed, who has to sign, where it stands and what is next.
- Instrument drafts. Affidavits, stipulations of interest, corrective and quitclaim deeds, releases, ratifications and disclaimers, drafted from the client's or attorney's forms for the attorney to review.
- Probate and records gathering. Pulling death certificates, probate filings and decrees from the right office.
- Signatures and recording. Following up with the people who need to sign and recording the finished instrument in the correct county.
What curative looks like
Most requirements are small and specific: a release that was never recorded, a name that does not match from one deed to the next, a legal description with a typo. A few are not small. A missing probate can take months and may need a lawyer in another state.
We tell you early which items look quick and which look slow. See common curative requirements for a plain list of what comes up most.
What to send
- The title opinion or the attorney's requirements list
- Copies of the instruments the requirements refer to
- Any contact details the client already has for the owners involved
- Who at the client signs off on drafts
What you get
- A tracker listing every requirement and its status
- Draft instruments for attorney review
- Recorded copies with recording information, added to the tracker when each item closes
What we do not do
- We do not give legal advice or practice law.
- Whether an instrument cures a requirement is for the examining attorney to decide.
Related
Send us the hard file
Send the title opinion or the requirements list. Tell us which items worry you most. We reply with a plan, a scope and a quote, and we say early which items look slow. Write to jc@sectionlineland.com.