New-York tribune., 1915-12-19
Nv JOHN J. HOPPER.
p.,ister OF New York County.

-. dover claim recently made
.,ias. the property bought and sold
n, lifetime by Edward F. Tracy OF
n Y, has aroused renewed in
,. '.''. IN the Torrens system. Many
~ have asked me how such a
pslsy.Gioor would be handled under
ti'I@i1r,r rorrsns system. In response 20
rus ,eries I have written this.
W 4Trarv lived In Troy, but engaged
~. sDecuIative real estate deals
y H--. work City, and in his trading
,;le TO many parcels OF land.
leVAr,ecv passed as an unmarried man.
" a woman appears and claims 10
!vtsss:s widow. II this is true. and the
- CONS to be proved, the widow mas
~ Soa,er third interest In every piece
~ 80 20 which Mr. Tracy took title
49,. . his lifetime. This is true even
sl"1b he held title for day only
~SV1te tinQ real estate turn.
sS.iv rI;, bappened over thirty years ago.
49,. -" reantime innocent persons have
s.r.bt and under the law. the widow
y. stake one-third Of the value or these
.a,srties - for her use during her ne
NV NV In another case, known as the
s.-;tsr I'M case. the heirs of Joseph VI. L.
s.,;Esr claim that single trustee VINO
s..,srsved had no right to convey. Such
Lain II sustained, would upset the
80 title. IL can easily be seen that
'1,b a claim might wipe out a mans
srtirs investment.
Why is Title Company
II. title companies have made ad-
-..tising material out of these cases,
Sr;ns them az reasons why owners
torl3 have their titles insured by
.s,1s s.G companies. Really, however, these
Is simnlv show the weakness and
Ssnger Of the present system Of con
S.vsneing. A title company policy IN
svyss oniy for the value of the prop
s-tv st tho time the policy is issued:
y does not cover increases in land
r,lue nor the value of subsequent I'M
movements. The loss, II a title prove
Wholly bad, might easily exceed the
i,,. value OF 3 policy. On the other
bsnd owners who have not insured
.tsnd 10 lose their entire investment.
his risk tends 70 drive all owners
into paving the huge insurance pre-
NUNS demanded by the title compa-
nies.
In this fact lies the true reason why
title companies 81 not want the pres
ont system changed. If title risks
we're removed and the Torrens sys-
tenn removes them-the reason for be-
jng Of title companies would dis
appear.
The Torrens Remedy.
The Torrens system remedies the diff
feulty in two ways;
Tirst-The present owner, having MS
title registered, would hold IL absolute
lv against the world, under title de-
isred indefeasible and backed by the
."rsrsicn mower Of the state. The
widow or the heirs, no matter how
inst OF equitable their claims, could
no, enforce them against the land.
The land would be absolutely free from
ike len
Second-If the widow or heirs could
prove a just and equitable claim, they
would have redress for money com
rersqtion out OF the assurance fund:
Their claims would then be decided
according 90 equity and they would be
paid IN money whatever amounts they
might be entitled 20 upon the merits
Of the cases.
The Torreus system requires that for
each property registered a payment OF
81 per $1,000 Oh the value OF the prop
rty be paid into the public treasury
ss an assurance fund for the compen-
a,ion Of any one injured by the opera
iicn Of the system Claimants 70 prop
erty, almost without exception, are
persons out Of possession, like the
widow in the Tracy case, or the heirs
IN the Striker case. ana their only eX-
pectation is q money settlement. Unter
the present system a successful claim
slt could oust the innocent owner who
"a in possession and who has improved
the property by the investment Of his
eEn money. The Torrens system re-
verses this and prevents the claimant
from making any claim against the