2012 Title Examination Standards Handbook

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2012 Title Examination Standards Handbook 2012 TITLE EXAMINATION STANDARDS HANDBOOK (Including revisions adopted and effective November 4, 2011) Published by the Real Property Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association OKLAHOMA BAR ASSOCIATION 1901 North Lincoln Blvd. ● P.O. Box 53036 ● Oklahoma City, OK 73152-3036 ● 405-416-7000 Dear Examiner: The Board of Directors of the Real Property Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association is pleased to present the 2012 edition of its annual publication of the Oklahoma Title Examination Standards. This 2012 Title Examination Standards Handbook contains a complete, current set of Oklahoma's Title Examination Standards, including all changes and additions adopted through November, 2011 by the House of Delegates of the Oklahoma Bar Association. Because West Publishing’s deadline for the 2011 cumulative annual supplement to Title 16 of Oklahoma Statutes Annotated is before the Annual Meeting of the Oklahoma Bar Association House of Delegates, the 2012 amendments to the Title Examination Standards that are incorporated in this Handbook are not incorporated in the 2011 West publications. The latest available statutory supplement and pocket parts thus contain changes and additions to the Standards only as adopted through last year’s Annual Meeting. An examiner using either of the West publications should also refer to the 2011 Report of the Title Examination Standards Committee appearing in a November 2011 edition of the Oklahoma Bar Journal. This Handbook remains the only convenient single source of officially adopted and current Title Examination Standards. The Handbook represents the work from year to year of the Title Examination Standards Committee of the Real Property Law Section. Kraettli Q. Epperson of Oklahoma City served as Chair of the Committee during 2011. John B. Wimbish compiled this year’s Standards, prepared the Report of the Title Examination Standards Committee for the Oklahoma Bar Journal, edited this Handbook for publication and wrote the History for each new or revised Standard. Questions, comments and suggestions regarding the Handbook may be directed to the Editor or any officer of the Section. Attorneys practicing in real property and title examination are encouraged to participate in the work of the Title Examination Standards Committee. Inquiries regarding membership on the Title Examination Standards Committee should be directed to 2012 Committee Chair Kraettli Q. Epperson. All Oklahoma Bar Association members who paid 2012 Real Property Law Section dues receive a copy of the Handbook as one of the benefits of Section membership. Additional copies may be purchased by anyone directly from the Oklahoma Bar Association. Copies may be ordered by sending a written request together with a check in the amount of $5.00 payable to “O.B.A. - 2012 Title Standards Handbook” to: Title Examination Standards Handbook, Oklahoma Bar Association, P. O. Box 53036, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73152-3036. Respectfully Submitted, John B. Wimbish, Title Examination Standards Handbook Editor OKLAHOMA TITLE EXAMINATION STANDARDS As Adopted by the House of Delegates of the Oklahoma Bar Association on November 4, 2011 Published by the Real Property Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association Copyright 2011 THE HISTORY OF TITLE EXAMINATION STANDARDS IN OKLAHOMA The impetus for the adoption of Title Examination Standards in Oklahoma was apparently supplied by the Title Lawyers Group of Oklahoma City under the leadership of Howard T. Tumilty.1 Seemingly at the instigation of this group and a similar group from Tulsa, the Central Committee of the Oklahoma Bar Association “gave its approval” to ten standards previously adopted by those groups. The bar was advised of this action of the Central Committee by the publication of the ten standards in the Oklahoma Bar Journal on September 28, 1946.2 At the same time, the bar was informed that additional standards were under consideration by the title groups and would be “up for discussion” before the Real Property Section at the annual meeting of the Association.3 In the Journal for October 26, 1946, it was said that ten standards had been “adopted by the Oklahoma Bar Association.”4 It is interesting to note this change in terminology. The previous announcement was that “the Central Committee had given its approval”. Those standards which had been “approved” and/or “adopted” were then published.5 The same announcement stated that the other six (which were not printed) “are being considered” and that other additional standards would also be submitted for consideration to the Real Property Section.6 The report of the Annual Meeting as published in the Journal on November 30, 1946, indicated that, at the November 16 meeting of the General Assembly and House of Delegates, eleven additional standards, previously approved by the Real Property Section, “were adopted by the Association”.7 On October 31, 1947, the Association approved additional standards on the recommendation of the Real Property Section. Those adopted as printed in the Journal were designated as “A” through “G”.8 The House of Delegates authorized the officers of the Real Property Section “to rearrange in more logical order, and to renumber all the standards heretofore adopted”.9 This work was completed and published on February 28, 1948. There were then twenty-eight standards.10 On December 2, 1950, an additional standard was adopted without a numerical designation.11 By common assent apparently, it became “Standard 29”. In December 1952, Standards “30” through “32” were adopted.12 Standards “33” and “34” were added in December 1959, and four other standards were amended.13 On November 30, 1960, the proposal of the Title Examination Standards Committee to adopt the current grouping and numbering was approved, as was the addition of authority and comments to two standards.14 At the same time, because of events which are detailed in the historical note appended to the current “Standard 1.1”, the seeds of misunderstanding as to the status of that Standard were sown. This uncertainty continued in some segments of the bar until the 1962 meeting of the Association. The 1961 meeting of the Association saw the adoption of four new standards and the amendment of two others.15 As a result of the uncertainty of the status of “Standard 1.1”, and as a result of numerous inquiries from members of the bar as to the accuracy of differing versions of the standards published and circulated by various sources, the 1962 Real Property Committee saw the need to compile an authenticated version of the Title Examination Standards. The editorial work was done using the text of the standards as they were published in the Journal where possible, and the Minutes of the Annual Meetings and the Executive Council where necessary. As a part of this editorial work, historical notes were prepared for each standard. This editorial work was recommended for adoption16 by the Real Property Committee. The proposal was approved by the Real Property Section and the House of Delegates.17 At the same time, recommendations of the Committee (1) settling the controversy over the status of “Standard 1.1”, (2) establishing standards implementing the Simplification of Land Titles Act, (3) modifying two existing standards and (4) establishing standards in relation to Federal Tax Liens were made.18 All of those recommendations were subsequently approved by the Association.19 -ii- Subsequent to the 1962 Association meeting, additional editorial work was done to integrate the newly adopted material into the standards and to reflect the action of the 1962 Association meeting in the appropriate historical notes. Since 1962, the Title Examination Standards have been published in the Journal, in the Oklahoma Statutes and in the Oklahoma Statutes Annotated. Additionally, the Real Property Section has published them annually in a Title Examination Standards Handbook, beginning in 1982. In those years since 1972 in which changes in the Title Examination Standards were proposed, the proposals were published in the Journal prior to the Annual Meeting. At an early time, there were several printings of the proposals. More recently, primarily because of the cost of printing, the proposals have been printed but once. Under the current procedure, the Section's Title Examination Standards Committee, meeting on a monthly basis during the year, develops a number of recommendations which are in turn presented to the Section at its Annual Meeting, for discussion and approval. Those recommendations approved by the Section are forwarded to the House of Delegates for consideration, and, once adopted, become effective immediately. Since the early 1960's, the House of Delegates has not failed to approve any of the proposals presented to it by the Section. In 1982, the Oklahoma Supreme Court, speaking unanimously through Justice Lavender, gave its endorsement to the Title Examination Standards adopted by the Oklahoma Bar Association: “While [the Oklahoma] Title Examination Standards are not binding upon this Court, by reason of the research and careful study prior to their adoption and by reason of their general acceptance among members of the bar of this state since their adoption, we deem such Title Examination Standards and the annotations cited in support thereof to be persuasive.” Knowles v. Freeman, 649 P.2d 532, 535 (1982). None of the numerous members of the bar whose efforts had contributed to the formulation of the standards could fail to feel rewarded by this judicial pat on the back. One final matter needs to be said, and this seems the only place to say it. The status of the “Histories” that follow the standards is not completely understood by some. The histories are prepared by the undersigned after the standard has been adopted or amended by the House of Delegates. The histories are, therefore, not a part of the standards, and their sole purpose is to permit any, who wish to do so, to check the status of the standard and the authenticity of its wording as printed.
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