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When is a Limited Title Review Sufficient?

John R. Hazlett, Land and Permitting II (1996)

This paper shall attempt to explain how the manager (whether he or she is an attorney, landman, accountant or engineer) responsible for managing and implementing the company's title policies and the risks associated with those decisions are handled. This paper is not intended to be a scholarly treatise since very few articles have been written on this subject. I have tried to present this paper from a managers viewpoint rather than a legal paper.

The preferred method to order a title examination on a tract of land would be to order certified abstracts of title from inception and hire an attorney to prepare a title opinion covering the surface and mineral estate using the title standards recommended in that county, parish or state where the property is located. Unfortunately unless your are preparing a division order title opinion, the expense of conducting an examination of this type can be very costly and time consuming. The land and legal professions have adopted several methods to examine title taking into consideration the risk of loss of title and maintaining title costs to an acceptable level. Management reviews the project, its size, complexity, present value and capital to be invested in the future and agrees on a plan for title examination. Attorneys, Landman or Abstractors are hired and the project is on its way.

What are the various different types