You may need to file a quiet title action if a link in the chain of title of a property is either broken or incorrect. A chain of title is a list of people who have owned a property before the current owner. Oklahoma law has a strict rule in place if a person or family would like to add a new link to the chain of ownership. This helps ensure that property ownership is never confused by claims of false ownership in the future.
Quiet Title Actions and Ownership Links
If an ownership link is broken, for any reason, a person can begin the process of quiet title action. Even if the parties involved in the action know who the property should belong to, a quiet title action can and should still be initiated.
Say, for example, that a father owned a large piece of property and died without writing an official will. His children divvy up the property amongst themselves and use it for their own devices. They all know which parts of the property belong to them, but because it was never written down in any legal capacity, it still belongs to their deceased father. If one of the children tries to sell their piece of the property, they won’t be able to because they have no legal right to it. How can the children rectify this situation?
The best course of action in this scenario is to hire a real estate property attorney. An attorney with experience in this area will know the correct steps to take in order to repair the chain of property ownership.
A quiet title action attorney will:
- Describe the title defects to the court;
- Ask the judge to fix the defects with an order by declaring the true owner of the property; and
- File the order in the county property records.
Through these legal actions, you could effectively fix the chain of title. If, however, there is a dispute over the property from another family member, the issue may become a legal dispute. The result will still be the same, but the judge will decide who the rightful owner is before filing a declaration order in the county records.
Contact Bundren Law Firm, P.C.
If you are in the Tulsa area and are having trouble establishing ownership of a property, get in touch with Bundren Law Firm, P.C. today. Our law firm is dedicated to providing our clients with strong legal representation. Our attorneys have handled many quiet title action lawsuits and we can help you seek the results you deserve.
Call us today at (918) 992-3300 or contact us online for a case evaluation.
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