Donald R Gustafson of Shipman & Goodwin was assigned in 2007 to be the Administrator of my father’s estate. He worked with Bryon Harmon to handle Trust and Estate issues in the Norwalk, CT Probate Court. Bryon was brought in due to his background in Trust and Estates. During the 4 years of the estate Bryon never submitted any of the Probate Court approved documents. I had to File a Motion to force Bryon Harmon and Donald Gustafson to submit my father’s estate documents – which was a Trust. Because Bryon Harmon and Donald Gustafson did not submit Trust documents it allowed his law firm Shipman & Goodwin to work on the Estate for about 3 extra years. Most of the work Bryon and Donald performed was not required and not needed. There was no need for him as an attorney to clean houses, work with utility companies, and talk with land keepers. By Bryon and Donald not admitting my father’s Trust to the Probate Court they were able to bill me for work that most people would do for free. Just recently the total bill for legal services of Bryon Harmon and Donald Gustafson was over $1,000,000. In my opinion he was over billing me and his legal fees. His fees were really only about $50,000 to $100,000 worth of legal fees. They even billed me for attempting to sell land in Greenwich, CT that I instructed them not to do. They wanted to sell land to have extra cash in my father’s estate so they could bill me more legal fees. I would really recommend people looking for an estate attorney have an agreement first about billing and oversight. I asked Bryon and Donald to have a review of their legal fees and he refused and suggested I should file a complaint in Superior Court. They became very nasty when ever I requested to review their so call “legal fees”. I think all clients should have a right to review their legal bill with their attorney. Bryon Harmon and Donald Gustafson never actually reviewed their legal fees with me even though I requested several times.

I hate politics as much as the next guy, but when and where does it all end?

Please tweet this to my twitter zerrubabel@zerrubabel as the article has an Evangelistic appeal to others who want to get out of the toilet too.

We came very close to spending nearly half a million dollars (average sale price of a home in the region) on a manufactured home. If that transaction had completed, as I understand it, the title insurance company would have been liable for a huge chunk of money. Is that right?

We nearly sued the listing agent, who represented the sellers. They knew the property’s correct designation. She represented them. Unfortunately, had we taken action against the seller our own (buyer’s) agent would have suffered financial fallout as well. Not wanting to punish our agent, we did not pursue the case.

So what IS title insurance, and if it’s so good – why didn’t it protect us in this instance?

Title insurers are not allowed to “charge whatever they want.” How title insurance rates are set varies from state to state, but in most states, rates are set by a regulator. By statute in most states, the rate cannot be excessive and must allow a return commensurate with the work of local title agents to underwrite and the risk of insuring the title. Also, consumers have always received discounts where they have obtained a prior policy of title insurance. Lenders require homeowners obtain a new lender’s title insurance policy on a refinance transaction to protect the lender from any liens against the property that may have occurred between the time the previous policy was issued and the time of the refinance. Basically, a homeowner is getting a new loan and a lender will want to make sure it is protected. Even if you recently purchased or refinanced your home, there are some problems that could arise with the title. For instance, you might have incurred a mechanics lien from a contractor who claims he/she has not been paid. Or you might have a judgment placed on your house due to unpaid taxes, homeowner dues, or child support for instance. The lender needs reassurance that the title to the property they are financing is clear. A homeowner’s title insurance protects the owner for as long as they or their heirs on the property. And only need to be paid for once.

The local and often independently owned title insurance agents retain a premium split that covers the cost of title examination, title plant maintenance and other expenses provided by local employees and contributes to the local economies in every county of the United States. These types of cost are not incurred with other insurance products.

Unlike insurance agents that sell other forms of insurance, title insurance agents spend the majority of their time and resources preventing claims and protecting homeowners’ property rights. The majority of the one-time title insurance premium covers the cost to discover, identify and repair events that occurred in the past. Before a policy is issued, a title agent examines the history of a property contained in public records, where they find issues in one out of every three title searches. In order to make sure a homeowner has clear rights to a property, the title agent will scrutinize prior deeds or mortgages, divorce decrees, court judgments, delinquent taxes and child and spousal support payments, vesting, covenants, conditions and restrictions, general encumbrances, and utility or other kinds easements.

Because of these preventive measures, title insurers pay out significantly less in claims and is fundamentally different from all other forms of insurance, which charge yearly premiums to provide insurance protection for future events. Besides minimizing the possibility that title hazards will threaten ownership or use of property, the concentration on risk elimination greatly reduces the number of claims to be defended against or satisfied by the insurer. The curative work performed by title agents also minimizes the fear, disruption and distress that title claims have on homeowners.
When shopping for title insurance, consumers should compare all of the associated costs. Some rates may or may not include other services provided by the title company such as conducting the closing, preparing and notarizing documents, adding endorsements to the policy which may be required (usually by the lender or buyer), and other services. When comparing one rate to another, be sure to get detailed information on what is included in that rate, so you are comparing equally.

Consumers do have a choice in selecting the provider of their title insurance related services. They can either select their own title insurance company, or choose to designate a third party, such as a real estate agent, to make a recommendation. The American Land Title Association is working to help educate consumers about title insurance so that they can better understand their choices and make informed decisions. ALTA urges homebuyers, regulators and legislators to check out its consumer website, http://www.homeclosing101.org, to learn more about title insurance and the closing process.

Unlike auto or homeowner’s insurance, title insurance is incredibly labor intensive (even with the progress of technology). Whether the 5% loss figure is accurate or not, the writer makes it sound like the other 95% if pure profit. The truth is that after making payroll, paying medical benefits, renting office space, paying for supplies, paying government insurance requirements, and reserving money for future losses (which the company can’t touch for several years), the majority of title companies would be pleased with an 11% PRE-TAX profit (though most companies don’t reach that goal). In fact, it would be interesting to see how many title companies have closed their doors since 2008 or even what percentage of companies have made any money at all in that period of time. I think you would be suprised.

All of us would like to save money these days, but using the media to complain about something one does not even understand is a bit irresponsible in my humble opinion.