[WSBARP] Quieting title to 5" strip from 1897

Wed Aug 20 14:54:55 PDT 2014

   I ran one where the strip was 14”, from 1891. I traced the heirs up to
1952, and the trail dried up. 

   You need due diligence in finding heirs. Don’t do it pro forma,
sometimes you find a family genealogist and can finish it out with
quitclaims from the descendants. Start with the vesting in a litigation
report. Call all people with similar names in the county, and if the name
is not common, all people in the state. Depending on your time and
inclination, hire an investigator, or do it yourself (I had a very good
paralegal for these chores.) Check probate records as another source of
genealogy. Pay for a month of Ancestry.com or find someone already a
member, and see what you find.  

If you can’t find all the descendants, then do the quiet title. You will
publish for service on Unknown Heirs of the vested names from the
litigation report, and if you have some names of descendants, as I did,
then name those people as defendants as well. 

   Hope for a short legal description – with a two page legal description,
the biggest single cost on my 1891 case was publication. The due diligence
may help to narrow down the appropriate county for publication, or may
cause you to have to publish in multiple counties. 

Otherwise, it’s a pretty simple quiet title suit, based on adverse
possession, against a bunch of unknowns who are served by publication and
defaulted. 

Rebecca K. Wiess

Attorney at Law

1420 5th Avenue, Suite 3775

Seattle, WA  98101

Phone 206 622-4425

Fax 206 622-9021

rwiess at foxinternet.net 

  _____  

From: wsbarp-owner at lists.wsbarppt.com
[mailto:wsbarp-owner at lists.wsbarppt.com] On Behalf Of Anne DeVoe Lawler
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 2:00 PM
To: 'wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com'
Subject: [WSBARP] Quieting title to 5" strip from 1897

Listmates:  Over 100 years ago, a conveyance of property (then farm land;
now zoned commercial) omitted a 5-foot strip along one side.  The strip is
not included in anyone else’s deed, and thus was, at least technically and
by mistake, retained by the seller in 1897.  However, it likely has been
used by the previous owners as part of their parcel. The missing strip was
discovered through a survey.

Current owners of the adjacent parcel need to quiet title to the strip.
Thoughts on (1) whether we need to sue all known and unknown heirs of the
seller from 100 years ago, and (2) what has anyone done to conduct
“reasonable diligence” to find unknown heirs? 

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

Anne DeVoe Lawler 
Jameson Babbitt Stites & Lombard PLLC 
801 Second Avenue, Suite 1000 
Seattle, WA 98104 
206-292-1994 
206-516-3204(direct dial) 

206-719-7687(cell)

206-292-1995(fax)

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Information provided on this list should not be considered legal advice.
As with all lists - let the reader beware! No warranties or
representations are made as to the accuracy of any information provided.
All opinions and comments in this message represent the views of the
author and do not necessarily have the endorsement of the Washington State
Bar Association nor its officers or agents. 

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