Wisconsin Contact List
Put your trust in the professionals that put you first. Meet the key players who are committed to providing the necessary resources and underwriting guidance you need, and the service solutions that give you an edge.
Product, Service, and Administrative Support
Jeff DeGood SVP, Division Managing Director of theMidwest Region
803-767-1671 jdegood@firstam com
Underwriting Support
Marv Ripp VP, State Counsel
608 286 3202 mripp@firstam com
Allison KalweitUnderwriting Counsel
608 346 5135 akalweit@firstam com
Agent Underwriting Divisional Leadership
Len Prescott, Esq. VP, Director of Agency Underwriting
305 908 6252
305 900 8427
Ben SmaglickWisconsin Agency State Manager 608 345 3902 bsmaglick@firstam com
Steve Zablocki Senior Underwriting Counsel 608 286 3224 szablocki@firstam com
Julie AngelakosRegional Underwriting Director 630 799 7123 jangelakos@firstam.com
Randy Paslay VP, Divisional Underwriting
Joint Tenant to a Tenant in Common: A Hard Lesson
Steve Zablocki, Senior Underwriting Counsel
One of the hardest lessons a property owner can learn is what happens when a later deed inadvertently changes vesting For example: A group of brothers and sisters share ownership of the family lake home as joint tenants with the right of survivorship The deed expresses the intent by using an expression such as joint tenants, as joint owners, jointly, or the survivor; followed by with right of survivorship.¹ The idea is that the interest of the deceased sibling goes equally to the other brothers and sisters upon anyone’s death. The vesting makes sense since it guarantees the interest will remain with the initial siblings and in the family. Conversely, if the grant is without reference to survivorship, it is considered a tenancy in common, and there are no rights of survivorship in a tenancy in common ² If there isn’t survivorship, then the interest will need to be probated
Problems may arise when family members want to be removed from the title For whatever reason, a couple of the siblings no longer want to contribute to the upkeep and deed their interests back to the remaining siblings We have seen instances where the conveyance recites from all of the siblings to the remaining siblings, but the deed leaves off any reference to the joint tenancy language.
What then? If the new deed does not recite an explanation or maintain the joint tenancy, we are left in an unenviable position of having to flush out the intentions of the grant If all of the siblings are still alive, they may be able to fix it with a correction instrument 3
However, if one of the brothers or sisters has passed away, their heirs may emerge as challengers to any correction It then may become a factual issue as to what the parties intended with their deed. Did they intend on severing the joint tenancy and hold property as tenants in common? Or did they intend for their heirs to take title and not transfer the property to the surviving tenants? These unanswered questions could end up leaving the property uninsurable without a quiet title action.
If you encounter a situation where vesting seems to change, contact your First American underwriter We may be able to come up with a solution that avoids probate We might not Whatever the case, don’t go it alone. We can’t change the facts, but we can sometimes find and offer solutions
Wis Stat §700 19(1) 1
Wis Stat §700 17(3) 2
Wis Stat 706 085(1)(b)(8) “ The correction of [t]he nature and purpose of the conveyance ” 3
Indeterminable Interests: What to Do If You Don't Know
Steve Zablocki, Senior Underwriting Counsel
When we insure a sale, we include everyone who has an interest in the property. Whether they have a fee, remainder or life estate, we line them up and have them sign the deed We should know their identity We should feel confident we have the right folks
We do that for our new buyer so that fee simple absolute title is conveyed. Everyone and anyone that holds any right or title must convey out their interest. Buyers typically do not dream of having a life tenant puttering around their new property. They want it for themselves A grant must be free from any indeterminable interests before we can insure
An insurable interest is an ownership interest in which a specific person or entity is named. For example, “I give my property to Bob Buyer, my child,” is insurable since it names a specific recipient of the interest. However, “I give my property to my children” is an indeterminable interest, because we cannot know the situation of the family, i e how many children the person had or the identity of the children
To make matters even worse, what happens if there’s a restriction that limits the sale or rights only to a selected indeterminate group? What if Seller’s vesting deed recites “Said property to be sold and transferred only to direct descendants of John and Jane Doe”? Could an affidavit be obtained confirming the direct descendants and collection of deeds from those currently living parties? Maybe. But what is a direct descendant?
A direct descendant is one who is in a direct line of descent from a specific individual: a child,
grandchild, great-grandchild, without intervening relatives such as aunts, uncles, or cousins. That could be a lot of people.
In these situations, we ask ourselves who is alive and who is not? Who are competent? That could include children below the age of eighteen Can we feel confident that everyone with an interest is terminated? Yes, there may be situations where yet to be born children are cut off. Yet, if the grantors who created the mess are still alive, they can with all the current direct descendants sign a release We should be able to manage such a situation
However, if the grantors are deceased, Houston, we have a problem. In this case, the interest created is indeterminable and any deed uninsurable. If there ARE individuals now or into the future, who later look at the “family” property, they could easily be led to believe that they have an interest or have a right to the property As such, we would have to require that a court action is necessary to quiet those future interests
If you cannot readily identify all parties or see a strange grant or restriction, contact your First American underwriter before proceeding, as you may have an indeterminable interest.
The Doctrine of Merger
Steve Zablocki, Senior Underwriting Counsel
You own it, you own it all Very simply, if you own a fee simple interest, you possess the Big Kahuna of interests It’s the Big Salad or the Great White Whale There is nothing smaller
The doctrine of merger recites that a person or entity cannot own both a higher and lower interest in the same land. For example, if you own a parcel of land benefitted by an easement and you later become the owner of the fee simple interest in the burdened land, the interest is said to have “merged”. An easement is a lower interest. You no longer are burdened by that easement. Rather, you have fee simple to both interests The easement is terminated by operation of law Naturally, this doesn’t apply if there are others benefited by that easement but an easement may be wiped out through merger
Also, merger can occur in a deed in lieu of foreclosure. The lender takes the property through a deed. Their mortgage interest “merges” into the fee simple title. Now the lender will sometimes recite “antimerger” language. They do so in that instance to have some means of salvaging title if there are subsequent liens The lender does not want to face a creditor who recites that the deed in lieu prevents the lender from foreclosing a later attached judgment
This is also why after a sheriff’s deed the lender does not have to satisfy their mortgage. The mortgage merges into the judgment of foreclosure and the judgment of foreclosure merges into the fee simple interest under the sheriff’s deed.
If you have any questions on whether merger eliminates or complicates a given transaction, contact your First American underwriter
Where the Wild Things Are: They Are in the Chain of Title
Steve Zablocki, Senior Underwriting Counsel
Whoever said title is boring doesn’t get it. We have all sorts of fun: tracing a legal description, reviewing the chain of title, building a commitment, and closing a transaction. Whew. Where things take a turn is when we see odd ducks and other title abnormalities. That’s when things get interesting.
You may see a deed, mortgage or other documents that are recorded with a wrong legal description. They show up in your chain. The grantor isn’t in title. The grantor was never in title. As a result, these recordings are called “wild instruments” What to do? Most times, nothing We can just sit back and enjoy the wild ride. A deed, mortgage or other conveyance from someone who does not and has not owned the land is null and void. You can only convey what you own and if you don’t own anything, you aren’t conveying anything
However, if the wild instruments become a habit in the chain, that it is repeated, then something may be needed to fix the situation Did the neighbor keep conveying your property? Did successor lenders keep mortgaging your property? It might be that there is some adverse possession or other problems in play. It may be that the neighbor is trying to create adverse possession by deed It may be nefarious or may just be a simple oversight.
Whatever the case, we may have to look closer and analyze the errant documents. In most cases with a “one off” wild instrument, we can simply ignore If you see something more, give your First American Underwriter a call. We may have a wild solution.
ALTA 49 and ALTA 49.1 Endorsements
Are Now Available for Use
Allison Kalweit, Underwriting Counsel
Agents now have access to two powerful new endorsements—ALTA 49 and ALTA 49 1 designed to expand post-policy protection for residential property owners. These endorsements offer a layer of security against post-policy forgery.
ALTA 49 is issued at the time of policy issuance and provides coverage for postpolicy forgery affecting the insured’s title ALTA 49 1 is issued after an existing policy and adds forgery protection to existing Owner’s Policies. This is ideal for clients who want to enhance their coverage after closing.
Both endorsements are limited to residential properties with one-to-four family dwellings and are available only to natural persons or estate planning entities.
ALTA 49 and 49 1 provide agents with a new way to offer meaningful protection to clients who would otherwise lack postpolicy forgery coverage
Effective August 1, 2025, the following rates apply:
ALTA 49: 5% of the policy premium (minimum $100)
ALTA 49.1: 10% of the policy premium (minimum $200)
These endorsements do not extend the policy date or increase the amount of insurance, but they do modify certain exclusions to provide the new coverage.
ALTA 49 must be issued at the same time as the Owner’s Policy ALTA 49 1 can be issued post-policy.
You should ensure the property and insured meet the eligibility criteria before issuing. Reach out to underwriting counsel if you have questions about eligibility or pricing
With seller impersonation and document forgery on the rise, establishing a strong fraud prevention program is business-critical AgentNet® Services
Rate Manual Overview of Changes - Effective Date August 1, 2025
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Tuesday September 9, 2025
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Atypical Residential Transaction Structures
Tuesday September 16, 2025
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Artificial Intelligence
Tuesday November 18, 2025
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From Wisconsin Agency Underwriting
Navigating Water Rights
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
9:00am – 10:00am (CST)
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Agricultural Land and Railroads
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
9:00am – 10:00am (CST)
Commercial Endorsements
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
9:00am – 10:00am (CST)
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