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Southwest Missouri | One side hires an attorney. He or she does a title exam to find out all possible owners of record.
The attorney then notifies the people in the best way realistically possible. If you know where they live, then personally serve them. If you do not, then service by publication is the best way.
The judge then hears the case and determines the different ownership interests in the land. If someone does not answer the petition, then their interests will likely be extinguished.
Let us say that someone, Farmer B, did not record a deed years ago. You bought the farm from Farmer B, who bought the farm from the owner of record, Farmer A. You have farmed the ground for 20 years. Both the person that sold it to you, Farmer B, and the person who sold it to him, Farmer A, are dead. All transactions are cash, so no one did a title search.
You decide to sell to Farmer C. Farmer C goes to the bank to borrow money. Title search is done. The bank will not loan the money because the title search does not show that you are the owner. The owner of record is Farmer A even though he sold it to Farmer B.
Therefore, a quiet title case is necessary to extinguish the ownership rights of Farmer A (and any heirs or assignees) who sold to Farmer B.
In this example, we are assuming that no one did anything crooked or underhanded. Farmer B just forgot to record his deed. There is a wide range of other possible title defects.
Edited by Greg Stremel 2/11/2010 11:35
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How does a quiet title for land work?
