Title Review & Strategy
Reviewing the chain of title and the title commitment, identifying each defect, and mapping the fastest lawful way to cure it before you commit capital.

Home / Real Estate Title & Distressed Property
Counsel for investors & acquisition companies
Michigan legal counsel for companies that buy property with title problems: unprobated estates, missing heirs, old liens, defective deeds and tax-foreclosed parcels.
Title services
A property can be a good purchase and still be impossible to resell until the title is fixed. The firm handles the court and recording work that fixes it.
Reviewing the chain of title and the title commitment, identifying each defect, and mapping the fastest lawful way to cure it before you commit capital.
Circuit court actions to resolve competing claims, clear old liens and interests, and obtain a judgment that confirms ownership.
Opening an estate, determining heirs and obtaining the authority needed to convey property that is still titled in the name of someone who has died.
Court proceedings to divide or sell property held by co-owners who cannot agree, including fractional interests acquired from heirs.
Corrective deeds, affidavits and other recorded instruments that fix legal description errors, missing signatures and breaks in the chain of title.
Counsel on tax-foreclosed and tax-reverted property, including title issues after foreclosure and claims for remaining sale proceeds.
How it works
Built for volume
Companies that acquire distressed property need the same work done reliably across many parcels. The firm can serve as outside title counsel for your acquisitions, with consistent intake, status updates and pricing.
Joseph's background in investigations is useful here. Much of this work comes down to finding people, documents and facts that have been missing for years.
Discuss an ongoing engagementWho we represent
In these matters Estate & Risk represents the investor, acquisition company or other business that retains the firm. The firm does not represent the property's owners, heirs, occupants or lienholders, and it cannot give them legal advice. Anyone on the other side of a transaction or lawsuit should consult their own attorney.
Every new matter is checked for conflicts of interest before the firm accepts it. The firm cannot represent both sides of the same matter, and it will decline an engagement when a conflict exists.
Families & individual owners
The firm also helps individuals and families with an inherited home that was never probated, a deed that was recorded wrong, or co-owners who cannot agree, when there is no conflict with an existing client.
Probate & trust servicesFees
You need to know the legal cost before you buy. Title matters are billed at the firm's standard rate of $350 per hour, and a flat fee can be set for defined work such as an uncontested probate or a standard quiet title action. Volume arrangements are available for companies with recurring matters.
Court filing fees, service and publication costs, recording fees and title company charges are separate. Scope and fee are confirmed in a written fee agreement before work begins. No outcome is guaranteed, and contested matters can take longer and cost more than uncontested ones. Flat fees are based on the information you provide at the start. If a matter turns out to involve facts, assets, parties or work that were not disclosed or could not reasonably have been expected, the fee may need to be adjusted. Any change is explained and agreed in writing before additional work is done.

Ready to talk?
Estate & Risk helps investors and acquisition companies turn a clouded title into a marketable one.
3310 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 265, Troy, MI 48084 · Serving Troy, Oakland County and clients across Michigan