Title Examination & Curative Attorneys in Northern Virginia
Clear the Title Before You Close
Before a sale or refinance can close, the title has to be clean, and a search often turns up an old lien, a missing release, or an error that has to be fixed first. We examine title and clear the problems across Northern Virginia.
✓ Buyers, Sellers & Lenders
✓ Leesburg & Fairfax
✓ Clear Before Closing
How Title Works in Virginia
Three Things About Virginia Title
60-Year Search
A full owner’s title examination customarily traces the chain of title back about sixty years
Defects Don’t Expire
Virginia has no Marketable Record Title Act, so an old cloud does not lapse on its own and must be cleared
Cure Without Court
Many clouds are cleared with a recorded certificate, affidavit, or corrective deed, no lawsuit needed
Sources: Virginia title practice on customary search periods (about sixty years for an owner’s policy, with a twenty-year judgment search); Virginia has no Marketable Record Title Act; Code of Virginia §§ 55.1-339 to 55.1-345 (certificate of satisfaction to release a paid lien), § 55.1-609 (corrective affidavit for a deed description error), and § 55.1-344 (release by court).
Because Virginia does not automatically wipe out old defects, a title problem from decades ago can still stop a closing today. The good news is that most of these problems can be fixed, and often without going to court. The key is finding them and clearing them before, not after, the deal is supposed to close.
Find the Problem, Then Fix It
Title examination is the work of tracing a property’s ownership through the land records to confirm the seller can convey clean title, and to surface anything in the way. That might be a paid-off deed of trust that was never released, a docketed judgment against a prior owner, a break in the chain, a deed with the wrong legal description, or an estate that was never properly settled. Curative work is what clears those problems so the sale or refinance can close and the title can be insured.
Much of it can be done with a recorded instrument rather than a lawsuit, using a certificate of satisfaction, a corrective affidavit, or a release. When a cloud cannot be cleared that way, we can pursue a quiet title action, and when the trouble is a flawed instrument, we handle the deed and title defect directly.
Schedule a ConsultationWhere We Come In
- ✓ A title search turned up a lien, judgment, or defect before your closing
- ✓ An old deed of trust was paid off but never released
- ✓ The deed has an error in the name, legal description, or signatures
- ✓ There is a gap or break in the chain of title
- ✓ An estate was never properly settled and heirs may have claims
- ✓ You want title examined before you buy or refinance
What We Handle
Title & Curative Services
From reading the records to clearing the cloud, so the title is ready for closing.
Title Examination & Search
Tracing the chain of title through the land records to confirm clean ownership and flag liens, easements, and defects before closing.
Clearing Liens & Judgments
Resolving docketed judgments, tax liens, and other encumbrances against the property or a prior owner so they no longer cloud title.
Releasing Paid-Off Liens
Clearing a satisfied deed of trust that was never released, using a certificate of satisfaction so it stops encumbering the title.
Corrective Deeds & Affidavits
Fixing errors in a recorded deed, such as a wrong legal description, through a corrective deed or a recorded affidavit of facts.
Chain-of-Title & Heirship
Closing gaps in the chain and sorting out heirship when an estate was never settled, so ownership can be established and conveyed.
Title Commitments & Insurance
Working through the requirements and exceptions on a title commitment so the policy issues and the ownership is protected.
How title problems get cleared
A full owner’s examination in Virginia customarily reaches back about sixty years, with a twenty-year search for judgments, and because the state has no Marketable Record Title Act, a defect from decades ago does not simply expire. A buyer is entitled to marketable title, meaning title free from reasonable doubt, so clouds have to be addressed before closing. Many are, without a lawsuit. A paid deed of trust that was never released can be cleared with a certificate of satisfaction, which a settlement agent or title insurer can record and which operates as a release. An obvious error in a deed’s legal description can be corrected by a recorded affidavit after notice to the parties. Old liens and judgments can be paid and released, and gaps in the chain can often be bridged with confirmatory deeds or affidavits of heirship. When those tools will not reach a cloud, a court can order a release, or a quiet title action can clear it by judgment. Once the title is clean, an owner’s title insurance policy protects the ownership against covered problems that a search could not catch, such as a forged deed or an unknown heir.
Attorney Insight
“Most title problems look scarier than they are. A loan paid off fifteen years ago that nobody released, a typo in a legal description, an old judgment against a prior owner, these come up all the time, and there is usually a clean way to fix them without a courtroom. What you do not want is to discover them on the day you are trying to close. The whole point of examining title early is to give us time to clear whatever is there before it becomes an emergency.”
Anthony I. Shin, Esq.
Founder, Shin Law Office
Common Questions
Answers Before You Call
What is a title examination?
It is a search of the land records tracing the property’s ownership and any liens, easements, or defects, customarily going back about sixty years in Virginia for an owner’s policy. It confirms the seller can convey clean title and flags anything that has to be cleared before closing.
A loan was paid off years ago but still shows on my title. Can that be fixed?
Yes. A paid deed of trust that was never released can usually be cleared with a certificate of satisfaction, which a settlement agent or title insurer can often record. Once recorded, it operates as a release, so the old loan stops clouding your title.
Do I have to go to court to clear a title problem?
Often not. Many clouds are cured with a recorded instrument, an affidavit, a corrective deed, or a lien release. Court is needed only when those tools will not reach the problem, in which case a quiet title action can clear it by judgment. We start with the least burdensome fix that works.
What is marketable title?
Title that is free from reasonable doubt and the threat of litigation, so a reasonable buyer would accept it. Unless the contract says otherwise, a buyer is entitled to marketable title, which is why curing defects before closing matters so much.
Why do I need title insurance if the title was examined?
Examination catches what the records show, but some problems, like a forged deed, an unknown heir, or an error in the records, may not appear. An owner’s title insurance policy protects your ownership against covered problems that surface later, adding a layer of protection beyond the search.
Related Real Estate Services
Deal With the Title Issue Early
The sooner a title problem is found, the more time there is to clear it cleanly before your closing date. Tell us what the search turned up. Serving Leesburg, Fairfax, and all of Northern Virginia.
Prefer to talk now? Reach Anthony I. Shin, Esq. at 571-445-6565.
Based in Loudoun County and serving clients across Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland, we know that when everything’s on the line, the right attorney doesn’t just make a difference, they determine the outcome.
Navigate
Reproduction of any content on this site is prohibited except for individual, non-commercial, informational use. This limited permission does not allow modification, distribution, or incorporation of any content into other works or publications in any medium. You may not reproduce or distribute content from this site to any third party.
Copyright © 2026 Shin Law Office, PLC. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2026 Shin Law Office, PLC. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of any content on this site is prohibited except for individual, non-commercial, informational use. This limited permission does not allow modification, distribution, or incorporation of any content into other works or publications in any medium. You may not reproduce or distribute content from this site to any third party.