Real Property Law Part II: Title Searches, Insurance, and Defects

Agenda / Content Covered

1. The Title Search and Examination
   1:00 - 1:45, Minturn Wright
   1. Title Search and Examination Explained
   2. Key Search Tools and Records
   3. Examining the Chain of Title and Conveyances
   4. Deed and Legal Description Review
   5. Tax, Lien, and Judgment Searches
   6. Inspections - Finding Easements, Encroachments, Access Issues, etc.
   7. Business Entities and Trusts: Identity, Capacity, and Authority Issues
2. Title Commitments, Policies, and Endorsements
   1:45 - 2:15, Norman R. Newman
   1. Types of Title Insurance Policies and Coverages
   2. Anatomy of the Title Commitment
   3. Reviewing the Title Commitment and Exceptions: What to Look for
   4. Title Objections
   5. Popular Title Insurance Endorsements
   6. Closing Protection Letters
3. Demystifying Land Boundaries and Surveys
   2:15 - 2:45, Minturn Wright
4. Common Encumbrances and Defects in Titles - and Their Remedies
   3:00 - 3:45, James F. Freeman III
   1. Deed and Legal Description Problems
   2. Estate Issues and Breaks in the Chain of Title
   3. Mortgage and Foreclosure-Related Defects
   4. Mechanics' Liens, Tax Liens, Judgment Liens, and Other
   5. Easement, Encroachment, and Setback Issues
5. Intro to Quiet Title Actions
   3:45 - 4:15, James F. Freeman III
   1. Grounds
   2. Identifying All Interested Parties
   3. Mechanics of a Quiet Title Action
   4. Defenses and Jurisdictional Challenges

Accreditation Details:

James F. Freeman III is an attorney with Swanson Bernard, LLC, where he practices in the areas of construction, land use, church, commercial litigation, business, contract, employment, probate litigation, appellate practice, transportation and corporate law. He is admitted to practice in Kansas, Missouri, and before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Claims, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth and Tenth circuits, and the U.S. District Court for the districts of Missouri and Kansas. Mr. Freeman is a member of the Kansas City Metropolitan, Kansas and American bar associations; as well as The Missouri Bar. He earned his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Norman R. Newman is senior counsel in the Indianapolis office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, practicing within the firm's real estate practice group. Mr. Newman is a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. He earned his J.D. degree, with distinction, from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law and is now an adjunct professor there.

Minturn Wright is a founding partner with Shannon Mullins & Wright LLP, in Alexandria, Virginia, where he primarily represents clients in real estate transactions and litigation matters. His two-plus decades of experience as a lawyer have been almost equally divided between real estate transfers and other transactions and litigation (principally real estate, tax appeals and tax sales, civil rights, and insurance defense). Mr. Wright has had experience dealing with environmental issues, business entities (corporations, limited liability companies, and the like), and patent/trademark issues, particularly licensing. He earned his B.S. degree from Yale University and his J.D., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Southern California. Mr. Wright is admitted to practice in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and California.