Title Standards Tuesday

Iowa Land Title Standards were developed to "encourage consistency among examining attorneys."¹ The standards were first implemented in 1944². These Title Standards are also used by abstractors during the creation of the abstract. Abstractors and attorneys must work together to make sure no confusion exists and so nothing gets missed on the abstract. An abstract, for those unfamiliar with real estate, shows the transfer of title and essentially the history of a piece of property. Liens and any documents of record are shown to present all information pertaining to the property in question. Not all states use the abstract form of title. Some states rely on title insurance while other states use the Torrens system, similar to a vehicle title. The abstract method is often the preferred method as it presents the most information about the property, helping to alleviate clouds on title and any adverse claims. The term "title" in abstracting terms is ownership and not a piece of paper. Title is transferred by a document such as a deed, but a deed alone cannot guarantee that the grantor had sole ownership or clear title. This is why an abstract with a root of title (at least 40 years) is needed to clarify any other claim or "cloud of title" and to make title marketable.

1. Iowa Land Title Association. “Iowa State Bar Association Iowa Land Title Standards.” (http://www.iowalandtitle.org/documents/TitleStandards0314.pdf: accessed 2 September 2014), Eighth Edition, p.1.

2. Ibid