Title chain reaction

In recent cases, several land trusts have run into trouble with title defects. From scrivenor’s errors to wild deeds, a title search can discover many potential pitfalls and help you avoid trouble down the road. Title insurance can add another layer of protection.

For Lyme Land Conservation Trust, a battle for protection of conserved land could have ended in defeat from a sad technicality. The donor deeded the easement to “Lyme Land Trust” and the landowner argued that Lyme Land Conservation Trust was not the rightful owner because it was not properly named. The land trust successfully persuaded the court that the donor intended to give the property to Lyme Land Conservation Trust and the trust did indeed have good title — but that tiny scrivenor’s error caused a lot of heartache.

For Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT), the easement listed the wrong name for the donor. The donor had transferred title of the property to an LLC of which he was a 99% owner and his wife was a 1% owner. Unfortunately, the deed listed the donor personally as the grantor. When the original landowner sold the property to a successor landowner, the successor argued that the easement was a “wild deed” because it was not conveyed by the owner of the property. CCALT had to go to court to protect the easement. Again, the land trust successfully persuaded the court to protect the easement and reform the deed — but the landowner appealed and the land trust ended up spending three years defending its title.   

Cloudy title can lead to all kinds of trouble so be sure to do everything possible to protect your title to the property you’re conserving. Consider getting title insurance for every deed your organization holds. For more information and for helpful hints on how to keep clear title to the property you are protecting, take a look at our Practical Pointers on Title Insurance on *The Learning Center.

*The Learning Center is a service offered to Alliance member land trusts and partners, and to individual members at the $250 level and above.