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BWS1 · Nov 24, 2016, 05:56 AM

Hey everybody. Quick question. We bought a really nice piece of land a couple of months ago (we bought the land outright, didn't take out a loan or anything). Now we are preparing to build a house on the land and we are in the process of getting a construction loan. We are almost through with the construction loan process through our bank. The bank is having a title search done on the property for our construction loan. The attorney at that title company that the bank uses is a good friend of mine (very small town, lol). The title search came back all good of course; however the attorney who owns the title company (my buddy) noted that on the our deed for the land, the survivorship is worded in such a way that when I die, the land would equally go to our minor children and not just my wife, or something like that. So he wanted to fix it for me, so he created a new deed for us (it's titled corrective deed) and deed is from me and my wife (grantors) to me and my wife (grantees) and has the same language etc as our original deed when we bought the land except it changes the part about survivorship that he felt like needed changed. It also references our deed we filed a few months ago when we bought the land. He said he would send this to the bank loan officer with all the other title search info and we will sign this new deed at closing (for the construction loan) and then he will file it for us at the courthouse. He's a very experienced attorney, good friend, and his title company does all of the title work for the local bank and has for the last 30 years. All of this sound okay to you all? Our closing on the construction loan could possibly be scheduled for next week and I just want to know that everything will be okay.

Fr_Chuck · Nov 24, 2016, 09:29 AM

It all depends on what you want, or did you want it to go to the Children though deed after you and your wife both die (if die together or near same time)
Then it would be worded in that way.

But yes if you wish to take the children's rights off the deed, there is no issue in that.

BWS1 · Nov 24, 2016, 09:46 AM

First of all, thank you so much Chuck for taking the time to reply and help. Happy thanksgiving to you and your loved ones. As for the deed, I really had not thought about it, but my attorney friend (who is also the title attorney for the bank that is doing our construction loan) said this (the way he fixed it) would make it easier on my wife when I die, we have an 8 year old son. Does all of that sound okay to you, as in the way he fixed the deed... by making it a deed from me and my wife to me and my wife, and calling it a corrective deed? He said the only people who would need to sign it at closing of the construction loan would just be me and my wife, he said the guy we originally bought the land from a few months ago would not need to sign it or anything. Without questioning his expertise, lol, I just wanted to get an opinion on here if that all sounds like the right way to do it and I want to make sure it won't throw the bank a curve ball when we get ready to close the construction loan. Of course when me and my wife both die someday, it would pass on to our son I'm assuming, right? Thank you so much :-)

ScottGem · Nov 24, 2016, 09:47 AM

If your children are listed as joint tenants, then they may have to sign the deed. What puzzles me is having you and your wife as the grantors. I would have to see the exact wording ro understand why your friend wants to do this.

As for the construction loan, double check with the loan officer to see if the deed change will affect anything.

BWS1 · Nov 24, 2016, 09:56 AM

Hey Scott, thanks for replying. Happy thanksgiving! He said that the way it was originally worded, if I died, my wife would have hit 3/4 of the land and our 8 year old son would have got 1/4; and if thought that if my wife decided to sell it, this coukd make things a little harder for her. That's what he said, lol.

ScottGem · Nov 24, 2016, 01:25 PM

Again, without seeing exactly how it was worded, I can't say for sure. But knowing that your child is a minor makes it more understandable that your son doesn't need to sign. The whole thing does seem to make sense.

BWS1 · Nov 24, 2016, 09:39 PM

Hey Scott and Chuck, just a quick follow-up. I only looked at the new deed for a moment so I probably won't see it again until we meet with the loan officer for the closing of our construction loan. I understand why he wanted to change the survivorship thing, makes perfect sense to me. But here's what concerns me a bit...
1. The new deed they made is from me and my wife to me and my wife, and is exactly the same as the original deed where we bought the land, except it changes the survivorship language to what it should be.
2. So it's a new deed, as it should be. BUT the title attorney has titled this new deed "corrective deed". But from what I've read, a true "corrective deed" would actually spell out the correction and would have to be signed by the person who originally sold us the land. Right?
That's not what this is.
3. When I saw the title "corrective deed" and asked the title attorney about it, he said that was right but that the original guy we bought from didn't have to be involved in this.

So what do I do? This guy is the #1 title attorney in the county, has been doing this for 30-40 years, and does ALL the title work for the bank and has for decades. He had relatives on the board of directors and is just a great guy. I can't just tell him that he's messing up and how to do his job? Maybe this is how he always does them and everybody is just okay with it.

ScottGem · Nov 25, 2016, 05:22 AM

I would not be concerned. Since you and your wife are the legal adult owners, you are the grantors. He is titling this as a corrective deed to avoid having to pay an additional recording fee on it. The key here is that your son is a minor so the corrective deed is correcting the right of survivorship.