Translate
One of the items checked during the plat inspection process is whether the names listed on the Preliminary Title Report/Subdivision Guarantee match the names given as Declarants on the plat map. We want to confirm that all persons with a vested interest in the property being platted are aware of, and have given consent to, the platting activity. Consent Affidavits are then recorded for each party with a vesting interest who does not sign the actual plat mylars. On occasion we discover that one of the parties listed on the Preliminary Title Report is deceased or divorced, and thus no longer party to the platting process.
If a copy of a Death Certificate, Divorce Decree or document disclosing right title and interest has not been recorded with the County Recorder, it is likely that a decedent's name will remain on any title reports as an owner.
For our purposes, simply providing this office with a copy of the Death Certificate is inadequate for the inspection process. A Death Certificate will prove that a party has died, it does not confirm that the decedent relinquished his/her interest in the property to the declarant(s) listed on the plat. For that reason, the County Surveyor's Office will require an updated Preliminary Title Report/Subdivision Guarantee which removes the decedent from the report. Requesting an update places the responsibility for checking the true ownership in the hands of the title insurance company, and greatly assists our office in completing our inspection in a timely manner.
In the case of divorce between parties listed as owners on the title report, we will again ask the title company to update/correct the title report and provide a copy of the last vesting deed, which in some cases may be the divorce decree.
