A title company in St. Paul discovers that a property it is insuring is registered under the Torrens system and has a Certificate of Title. The sellers claim there is an easement benefiting a neighboring parcel that has existed for 20 years, but the easement does not appear on the Certificate of Title. Under Minnesota's Torrens system, what is the legal status of this easement?
Correct Answer
D) The easement is generally not enforceable against the registered owner because interests not memorialized on the Torrens Certificate of Title are typically not binding on the property
One of the fundamental principles of Minnesota's Torrens system (Minn. Stat. Ch. 508) is that the Certificate of Title is conclusive as to ownership and encumbrances. Interests and encumbrances not memorialized on the Certificate of Title are generally not binding on the registered land or its owner. This is a key distinction from the abstract system, where unrecorded interests may still be enforceable against parties with actual notice.
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Related Topics & Key Terms
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Related Concepts
Condominium ownership involves owning a unit of airspace within a multi-unit building plus an undivided interest in the common elements shared with other unit owners. Each unit is separately taxed and financed.
In a cooperative (co-op), the building is owned by a corporation, and residents purchase shares of stock in the corporation that entitle them to a proprietary lease on a specific unit. Residents are shareholders, not property owners.
Fee simple absolute is the highest and most complete form of property ownership, giving the owner unrestricted rights to use, possess, enjoy, and dispose of the property. It is of unlimited duration and fully inheritable.
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