Keeping Your Property Intact: The Quiet Title Action

Like any type of law, property law involves complicated transactions between many people and can sometimes be hard to interpret. While most transactions happen smoothly and property is bought and sold on a daily basis, there are many anomalies and strange occurrences that take place as well. Occasionally disputes as to who has the right of ownership of a property can take place, and legal action is necessary to end the argument. A quiet title action is legal procedure that helps establish the true owner of a piece of real estate.

A quiet title action is a lawsuit that helps dispel any claims that the current owner of a piece of property is the valid owner. This type of lawsuit is meant to clear up any uncertainty as to who owns the deed to a piece of land. Occasionally a party may stake a partial claim on property, or some bookkeeping involving the property may be erroneous. This is referred to as a cloud on the title, and can make further interactions difficult. A lawsuit against this can only be performed by the current owner of the property, and it keeps any further complaints against him from having much consideration in court.

Sometimes a quiet title action will be needed as a direct result of another person's action. One who acquires a new residence may be unaware of unpaid debts or taxes in the house's history. People who had never made their proper claim on some family property could resurface and try to take a stake in the ownership of the land. In these situations, the lawsuit intends to declare the rightful owner and prevent anyone else from making a similar complaint.

In other cases, there is no person making a claim on the house, but inquiries to the property can show that there are unresolved issues on the address. In the past there may have been arguments about the boundaries of the land or property lines that were never settled. Government records are also prone to human error, so occasionally the details about the area's history are uncertain. While there may be no immediate threat on the possession of the property, a quiet title action in this case can prevent future issues with selling the house and discard the unsettled problems.

On acquisition of a new property, many people often arrange a search to be performed on the history of the property. This type of search will find potential problems with the deed and determine whether the property is "cloudy". If this is the case, it becomes obvious whether a better hold on the property needs to be established.

A quiet title action is a useful legal tool that can help keep your assets safe and keep complications from arising in the long term. If you are uncertain about the status of your home, it never hurts to have a check done to learn more about the history of your residence.