Marital Status
Here is the Quill Tip of the month in a nutshell:
Include both the Grantor’s and the Grantee’s marital status on the Deed. If the parties are married, list them as spouses. If a party to the Deed is unmarried, indicate that they are single. Why is this important? Several reasons. The lack of marital status identification can create a marketability concern down the road. One of the things I am most asked to insure are deeds in the chain that fail to identify the Grantor’s marital status. Don’t be the law office that creates that marketability issue!
Secondly, as a wise man once told me, “Every time you open your file post-closing, you are costing yourself money.” (Thanks for that advice, Chris Burti!) When I first began practicing, I failed to include the marital status on some of my Deeds. In a couple of instances, I received a call from a curmudgeonly attorney (now retired) who would ask me, usually not very nicely either, for a copy of the Marital Status Affidavit from my file. (Those of us in Charlotte remember Woody Efird fondly. . . truly). The time that it took me to find the file – especially if it was in storage – copy the Affidavit, and send it to Woody cost me my time and, as they say, time is money.
Lastly, in today’s world, it may not be easy to discern marital status on the face of a Deed. In today’s age, we recognize same sex marriages. If, for example, we see Grantors listed as William Smith and James Washington, without any indication of their marital status, we don’t know whether to believe that conveyance involved two single men or two men married to each other. This can create – say it with me – a marketability issue.
Take it from us. . .you don’t want that phone call!
It’s that time of year again for all of us to randomly (I mean very strategically) fill in our March Madness brackets. So be on the look for emails from us in early March as a reminder to submit your brackets.
As we have done in the past we will award prizes for the top three brackets!
What did the boy pickle say to the girl pickle on Valentine’s day?
Send your guesses to Summer by clicking here.
Good luck!
This was last month’s riddle and answer:
What kind of coat is always wet when you put it on?
A COAT OF PAINT
Corporate Resolutions
There are some challenges for us when underwriting transactions in which either the buyer or the seller is a corporate entity. As we know, a Corporation acts through its officers. Who is an officer depends on how the company is organized. Typically, Corporations have Officers, like Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries and Treasurers. Limited Liability Companies have Managers, or in some cases, Members (with no Managers). If you get a President to sign the Deed, with no other documentation, you’re good, right? Right?!?!?! Let me answer that with a hypothetical (and by hypothetical, I mean this happened to me when I was practicing law. ):
President signs the contract to sell property owned by a neighborhood association. When asked for governance documents, she claims there are none. Despite repeated attempts to understand the corporate structure and oversight of the Association, she insists that she is the sole authority for the Association. She signs the Deed. The flipping President of the Association signed the Deed. Were good, right? Right?!?!?!?
Well, that depends on your definition of the word “good”. Two years after this transaction was recorded, I was sued by the Board of Directors of the neighborhood Association who claimed that I failed to obtain their permission before recording the conveyance. Does that answer the question?
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Cinthya Dasilva –
Customer Care Team
1. What is something that few people know about you?
Around the age of 10, I was put into a video game called “Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader”. My father’s best friend was creating the game and thought I’d be a perfect fit for one of the kids in it! (To this day, I still can’t beat the game…
2. What is your favorite movie?
That’s a tough one! I’d have to say either Pulp Fiction, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or Aladdin!
3. Name a person- alive or dead- you’d like to have dinner with and why?
My great grandfather! Sadly, I never got the chance to meet him, but he was a jazz musician in Paris when he and my great grandmother met. She tells me many stories about him and how they were good friends with Frank Sinatra. It would be pretty neat to sit down and talk about his shows, and the people he met throughout his career!
4. If you were not working in the real estate field, what would you be doing?
I would be working in a hospital as a nurse.
5. Tell us about a brush with fame.
I have a couple of stories… When I was about 3 and living in Miami, my father and I would go visit my mother who worked at the mall. Once we had gone after they closed, and waited for her to finish. We walk out as she’s closing out the store, and out of nowhere Michael Jackson is walking out of a store and headed towards us. According to my dad, my mom freaked out because she loves him, so he noticed, walked by us, and told us we were a beautiful family! I think it’s a great story, because 18 years later, I saw his daughter in New York City! I didn’t get to say anything because she was walking out with her boyfriend from a hotel and getting into a car. A few hours after, Snoop Dog was walking almost right beside me in Manhattan!
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Whitney Tate of Brady & Kosofsky
From time to time, we like to take a minute to highlight one of our many wonderful customers. This month we want to give kudos to Whitney Tate!
Whitney has made it a point to ask us ahead of time which Lien Waiver she should use in any given situation. The vast majority of time, she knows the answer, but wants to make sure that we are on the same page. Thank you Whitney, this is extremely helpful! You are an All Star!