DO ESTATE ATTORNEYS NEED TO DO TITLE SEARCHES?

Estate attorneys often try to prepare deeds for their client, and it rarely turns out well.

In our office, we often see Executor’s Deeds, Quitclaim Deeds, or Administrator’s deeds on record captioned with this statement: “Estate Attorney prepared the deed without a title search”.

While recording a deed without a title search will save their client $150 at the time, it could cost 10 times that much to fix any problems that come up later.  Instead of doing a title search, many estate attorneys rely on their clients to provide the previous deed and legal description.  This is often an old deed, or even the wrong deed. Years later, they may find that the house belongs to some other heir entirely, and not be able to sell the property.

Estate attorneys will appreciate a connection to a knowledgeable real estate attorney who can perform a title search for any property in Georgia and prepare the deed.