We talk about title insurance quite frequently on this blog because it’s the simplest way to protect your commercial asset. In the event that an issue arises with your property’s title once you’ve taken ownership, you can take solace in knowing that you are protected because you secured title insurance.
However, title insurance doesn’t just protect your property, it also protects your financial future. There are a number of costs associated with valid and invalid title claims. One such expense is legal fees associated with sorting out a claim on your title. In today’s blog, we explain how title insurance can save you on legal fees.
Are Legal Fees Covered By Title Insurance?
If you’ve ever had to hire an attorney to assist with a divorce, contest a criminal charge or simply draft a will, you know that they don’t come cheap. Legal fees add up in a hurry, and those expenses can balloon when a lot of time is needed to review a dispute. Title challenges are rarely issues that can be settled without a thorough review of all the facts, so it’s going to take some time to sort everything out. And because time is money, managing the contention of a property’s title can end up being very expensive.
Without title insurance, your options are to do the investigation yourself, which is cheaper on the front end but could be incredibly costly on the back end if you end up losing in court, or you have to pay out of your own pocket to hire a lawyer to fight on your behalf. It’s possible that a judge may order the other side to cover part or all of your legal fees in the event the claim is unsuccessful, but there’s no guarantee that will happen. Even if you get to keep your property, you may have to spend five figures proving the title’s legitimacy if you don’t have title insurance.
With title insurance, the whole ordeal is a lot less of a headache. As soon as you learn that somebody is making a claim on your title, you’ll get in contact with your title insurance provider. A claim on your protected property is essentially a claim on your title insurance provider, and they will use all available resources to investigate the claim, which includes hiring lawyers to research the facts and build a defense.
Title insurance offers a number of different forms of financial protection, and paying for the legal defense of any title claim is just one way you remain protected if you secure a title insurance policy. Don’t leave yourself exposed to financial risk by securing commercial property without also having an insurance plan in place. Nobody expects to have a title issue arise in the future, but you need to be prepared for this possibility, and the best way to do this is with a title insurance policy.
For more information, about title insurance policies or about the commercial purchasing process, reach out to the team at Commercial Partners today at (612) 337-2470.