Quiet Title Actions and Proceedings Subsequent: Minnesota Home Talk Legal Minute

Quiet Title Actions and Proceedings Subsequent: Minnesota Home Talk Legal Minute

The information below originally appeared as part of the Minnesota Home Talk Legal Minute.   To hear an audio version, click here.   You can hear my Legal Minute segments during the show every Saturday on 1500 ESPN at 7 a.m. and On Demand.

In most every real estate transaction, one prerequisite to the buyer’s obligation to close is that the seller have the ability to convey clear and marketable title to the property to the buyer. That means that the title must be free of any adverse claims or defects.

What happens when the title insurance commitment reveals a defect? The seller may have to undertake a proceeding to clear up the cloud on title.  In the abstract recording system, a quiet title action is used to remove adverse claims on title, and for Torrens properties, a proceeding subsequent to initial registration is required.  In each of these proceedings, parties with potential interests are given notice and an opportunity to be heard.  If no objections are raised to the action, the defect is extinguished from the title.

To hear other Legal Minute segments, visit the Minnesota Home Talk page on Jeffrey O’Brien Today.