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In order to produce continuity of practice among members of the
Lycoming Law Association, the
following statements are recognized as the prevailing customs in
the matter of examining and certifying or insuring
titles to real estate in Lycoming County and that certificates
of title shall be subject to and in accordance with the
following customs:
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To examine titles to real estate for a period of 50 years
prior to the date of certification or
insurance of title, providing however, that the beginning point
of the search shall be a deed or other
instrument purporting to convey a full fee simple title, and
which contains a special or general warranty.
A straw conveyance, quitclaim, or fiduciary deed shall not be
considered an appropriate beginning point.
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To consider only mortgages recorded within 50 years of the
date of the search or within such
period as is required by Paragraph 1 above, whichever is longer,
and to disregard others, unless the
mortgage is charged in or referred to in a document in the chain
of title which has been recorded or filed
within 50 years, or unless the present ownership or the
immediate source of title of present ownership is
the party subject to such mortgage.
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To disregard all charges unreleased of record which are more
than 31 years old, including the
lien of legacies created by wills proven more than 31 years ago,
unless the charge is referred to as being
in force and effect in a document in a chain of title which has
been dated and recorded or dated and filed
within 31 years.
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To consider as sufficient evidence of the veracity of the
facts any statement contained in a
document dated and recorded or dated and filed more than 30
years preceding the search, pertaining to
the following:
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that certain charges have been paid and released and
reciting the parties to the
release and the date thereof;
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any other document covered under the Ancient Document Rule
of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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To consider as sufficient evidence of the veracity of the
facts any statement contained in a
document acknowledged and filed or recorded which recites the
date of death or the fact of death of
anyone appearing in the chain of title.
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To consider as sufficient evidence of the veracity of the
facts of any statement concerning
marital status of a grantor contained in a deed which has been
properly acknowledged and recorded.
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To accept the veracity of the facts of any statements
pertaining to identification of the heirs
of a deceased owner made in accordance with any of the
following:
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The statements are contained in a deed or recorded document
dated and filed more
then 21 years previously; or
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The statements are contained in an affidavit made by one who
has personal
knowledge of the subject matter and who has no direct pecuniary
interest in the
transaction to which the statements relate.
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To disregard cases where a male grantor makes conveyance
without the joinder of his wife
if said conveyance is dated and acknowledged prior to January 1,
1918.
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To disregard cases where a conveyance of individually owned
property is made
without joinder of a spouse where the conveyance was made after
June 18, 1978, except
as indicated herein. In certain situations where a decedent has
conveyed individually
owned property without the joinder of a surviving spouse, the
surviving spouse must
convey title to remove clouds on the title. These situations
are:
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The decedent conveyed the property subject to a reservation
of the
right to use or occupy the property for life;
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The decedent conveyed the property subject to a reservation
of the
right to revoke the conveyance or invade or dispose of the
property;
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The decedent's conveyance included himself as a grantee
and the
conveyance was with right of survivorship;
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The decedent conveyed the property for nominal
consideration
within one year of the date of his death. For conveyances after
July 1,
1980, the joinder of a spouse is required if a search of the
records of
the county in which the property is located discloses a divorce
action
pending at the time of the conveyance or where the attorney
issuing
title insurance or a certificate of title has actual knowledge
of the
pendency of a divorce action.
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To consider as adequate the description of the premises or
property in a mortgage or deed
by a short description such as street address or number of acres
in a municipality or subdivision thereof,
frontage along a road in a suburban area, or lot number in a
development, provided the instrument contains
a statement incorporating the full description into the deed or
mortgage by reference to some recorded
instrument which contains the full description.
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To consider that no attorney's certificate of title shall,
in the absence of anything stated
therein to the contrary, bind the attorney to any responsibility
for the following items, unless a currently
completed survey of the premises has been brought to the
attention of the attorney and mention made
of the same in the opinion of title, namely: the location and/or
correctness of the boundary lines recited
in the most recent deed, the quantity of land involved, the
location or existence of improvements on the
land, and whether or not the improvements are located within the
boundaries of the land under search and
encroachments of improvements from adjoining owners on the land
under search.
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An attorney's certificate of title, unless otherwise
expressly stated therein, does not bind the
attorney to any responsibility for assuring or determining
whether there has been any violation of
covenants, conditions or restrictions that are identified in the
certificate of title, nor whether any future
violation of such restrictions will cause a forfeiture or
reversion of title.
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An attorney's certificate of title relating to land in
Lycoming County, unless otherwise
expressly stated therein, is based solely upon an examination of
the proper records in the Lycoming
County Courthouse and no attorney shall have any responsibility
for any title defect which is not disclosed
by an examination of said records, except for those items about
which the attorney has personal
knowledge.
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An attorney's certificate of title is furnished without an
accompanying abstract of title. A
copy of the abstract of title may be furnished the client upon
request and upon payment of an additional
fee sufficient to cover the cost of making such copy.
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In identification of the wards on deeds, mortgages and other
instruments, it is suggested that
the attorneys use the assessment wards as set forth by the
county assessment bureau and not the voting
wards. On deeds, it is further suggested that attorneys identify
the tax parcel number of the property
conveyed, using language such as the following, with the
selection of the appropriate bracketed word:
"For identification purposes only, being [all] [part] of tax
parcel no. _______________ in the records of
the Lycoming County Tax Assessment Bureau."
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An attorney providing title insurance or a certificate of
title for a lending institution shall not
have any obligation to assure compliance with state or federal
regulations for lending procedures or
disclosure procedures absent a written agreement with the
lending institution.
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To accept as conclusive evidence the validity of a sheriff's
sale or other judicial sale if the
deed confirming the sale was recorded at least six years prior
to the date of certification or insurance of
title, unless the record reflects that notice was not given to a
party in interest as required by the then applicable
Rules of Civil Procedure.
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To conclude that notice was properly given in any tax sale
if the deed in connection with said
tax sale was recorded at least 21 years prior to the date of
certification or insurance of title.
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