The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1905-06-22
Examine Your Titles Closely.

SSSSho
reason of their purchase from the
county as swamp land, calls attention to
the necessity for more careful ex-
animation of every title when one pur-
chases real estate. In this case, by
sending lawyer to Washington City
and securing a special decree from the
land department, these farmers saved
| their property but they might have lost
1t. The average person is exceedingly
careless about his title to land, think
| ing that an abstract of title from an alb
stracter's office gives him clear title.
AS a matter of fact an abstract in this
state is nothing more than an index to
all the records of instruments that
might affect the title. 1t might show on
the face of it the lack of some necessary
| link in the chain of transfers and should
always be submitted to lawyer for ex-
animation. Even then the title may APP
pear to be correct and if the owner is
easily satisfied the lawyer can say that
the title is good "as shown by the alb.
stract' but if q business man is buying
the property he will insist upon the law
yer examining the records to make sure
that the abstract has not omitted
some mortgage or tax default record, or
that the power of attorney was given to
the proper person, that the wife releas-
ed or that the names and initials appear
signed alike in necessary places. In
quiry among lawyers develops the fact
that business men are reasonably caut-
ious about their titles but that many
farmers and people who deal very sell
dom in land are inclined to trust to the
judgment of local justice of the peace
or prominent citizen for an examination
of title, thinking that the abstract itself
guaranteed clear title. In this state
abstracters guarantee nothing for as a
rule they are not financially responsible
for any large sum. They are accustom-
ed in many places to so change the form
OF their certificate as to escape liability
even under the common law and in
rare instances abstracters have been
known to be dishonest. One lawyer in
Marshalltown cites an instance of Ken
lucky title presented to him for ex-
animation in which the abstract showed
a perfectly clear title, but Kentucky
has no law compelling abstracters to
be bonded for guarantee as to the cor
rectness of their copy or abstract of the
records and he advised Investigation to
be made on the grounds, when it was
disclosed that the land was in full pos
session of other parties and that it had
been transferred 1856 times to suckers on
the strength Of the bogus abstract that
looked so nice. In Iowa a law is great
ly needed requiring abstracters to be
bonded. Then when they certify that
record the injured party could recover
pei greater accuracy and greatly sim
| Mi fv Of fhn
ern states have the law and Iowa needs
one greatly. In Marion county one alb
stracter has bonded himself voluntarily
and advertises the fact to help his bust
ness. Outside Of the legislature, Iowa
lawy ers practically all agree that such
law is needed, but so many lawyers in
small places make good fees, writing up
abstracts that could safely be obtained
from regular abstract Office were the
bonded liability in force that a bill of
this kind has been defeated. In every
lawyers practice the commonest errors
| in titles is the omission of release of
a wifes dover interest, the abstract fail
ing to show whether an original owner
was single or married. This alone can
cloud title for fifty years or more for,
in case the wife outlives the husband,
she has claim to one-third the proper
ty for ten years after his death and he
might have lived forty or fifty years
after he decided the property. Such an
instance occurred in the title to eighty
acres of land, now the most thickly set
tied residence district of Marshalltown
In an early day sharper Jumped" the
claim of the squatter, that is he found
that the settler did not have clear
title and he slipped into the land office
at Davenport and filed homestead en-
try upon the land but for fear the
squatter would adjudicate the matter
with shotgun the sharper filed in the
name of a friend. The friend was a
married man but the claim jumper did
not know it and when the land was
decided the wife's dover interest was
not released. Years afterwards, when
the eighty acres had been subdivided
into town lots, the claim jumpers
friend was able to hold up the lot
owners for $40 apiece for the necessary
release until lawers found way to cir
cumvent him. All lawyers have dis
covered that insurance companies are
exceedingly particular about the
regularity of titles upon which they
loan money and many farmer accepting
a title carelessly has found out later
that he could not borrow money on his
land. Because of the fact that tax
claims are recorded in the auditors
Office, court judgments in the clerk S
Office and mortgage records in the re-
corders Office it is necessary to use a
great deal of care in examining titles
AS the country grows older the trans
! fers in the history of the land title
become more numerous, hence the
liability for error much greater, and as
the lands increase in value the sums
involved in every transfer become so
large as to make it very important that
title be scrutinized with unusual care
The bonding of abstracters would help
wonderfully but caution by the pur-
chaser should always be exercised
Marshalltown Times-Republican.
The Touch of Nature.