Title questions often arise when you buy a home, share ownership, or plan for a loved one’s future. At Metz & Jones LLC, our Chicago attorneys help you review property records, address title concerns, and coordinate ownership with your estate plan.
You don’t have to sort through the unfamiliar legal language of a deed alone. Our firm provides personal guidance for real estate and other assets in an LGBTQ+-affirming environment.
What Is a Title to a Property?
A title refers to your legal ownership rights. A deed is a document that transfers an interest in real estate. Although a deed helps establish the ownership record, it doesn’t rule out liens or competing claims. A house title lawyer can review your deed and title records to identify issues before you buy, sell, or change ownership.
How a Title Law Attorney Can Help You
The way you hold title can affect inheritance, property transfers, and financial obligations. Our attorneys can:
- Review deeds, legal descriptions, and title documents
- Prepare corrective deeds or other transfer documents when appropriate
- Explain ownership options and their legal consequences
- Coordinate title changes with wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations
Title alone doesn’t determine whether property is marital or non-marital in an Illinois divorce. When and how you acquired the property also matter.
Who Do Our Property Title Attorneys Help?
We assist homeowners, unmarried partners, married couples, families in civil unions, and clients with complex property holdings. Our property rights lawyers provide respectful guidance to LGBTQ+ individuals and families, including transgender clients.
We take time to understand your relationships, ownership plans, and the people you want to provide for.
Types of Property Titles in Illinois
Illinois recognizes several forms of real estate ownership. Each creates different rights during your lifetime and after death.
- Sole ownership: One individual holds the title. Their interest generally passes through their estate unless another valid transfer arrangement applies. A will alone doesn’t avoid probate.
- Tenancy by the entirety: Married couples and civil union partners can use this arrangement for qualifying homestead property. The deed must expressly create this ownership form. When one spouse dies, the surviving partner retains the property.
- Joint tenancy: Two or more people own property with a right of survivorship. When one owner dies, the surviving joint owners receive that interest. The deed must expressly establish joint tenancy.
- Tenancy in common: Co-owners hold shares that may be equal or unequal. There is no automatic right of survivorship. A deceased owner’s share generally passes through their estate rather than automatically to the other owners.
Tenancy by the entirety provides limited protection against a forced sale to satisfy a judgment against only one spouse. It doesn’t block every creditor claim, and exceptions apply, including certain transfers intended to avoid existing debts.
Sole ownership or tenancy in common doesn’t always require probate. A valid Illinois transfer-on-death instrument can provide another path. It must meet statutory signing requirements, and the owner must record it before death.
Personal Property Titles
Vehicles, bank accounts, and investment accounts have their own ownership and transfer rules. Some accounts allow payable-on-death or transfer-on-death beneficiaries. These designations generally direct payment outside the will.
Adding a joint owner isn’t the same as naming a beneficiary. Joint ownership creates present ownership rights, while a death-beneficiary designation generally takes effect after the owner’s death. Our attorneys help coordinate these choices with your estate plan.
Common Title Issues and Dispute Resolution
Our attorneys assist with title concerns involving:
- Deed errors, missing transfers, or incorrect legal descriptions
- Boundary disputes and encroachments
- Undisclosed liens, judgments, or unreleased mortgages
- Forged documents, disputed transfers, and inheritance conflicts
The response depends on the issue; our team can evaluate corrective documents, negotiations, or litigation, including a quiet title action to ask a court to resolve competing ownership claims.
Why Addressing Title Problems Matters
Unresolved title defects can delay a sale, refinancing, or estate administration. Reviewing concerns before a planned transaction gives you time to understand your options.
For your consultation, bring your deed, available title insurance documents, and any letters describing or relating to the dispute.
Discuss Your Property Title With Metz & Jones LLC
For more than 40 years, Metz & Jones LLC has served Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community with legal guidance on real estate, estate planning, and family matters. Our women-owned firm offers a welcoming space to discuss your property and the people connected to it.
Speak with a property title lawyer about a purchase, ownership change, or title concern. Call (773) 878-4480 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.
Serving the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community and Friends in Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois.