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
Don Kennedy
Division Managing Director 714 788 4908 dokennedy@firstam com
Underwriting Support
Marv Ripp
VP, State Counsel
608 286 3202 mripp@firstam com
Allison Kalweit
Underwriting Counsel
608 346 5135 akalweit@firstam com
Ben Smaglick
Agency Representative 608 345 3902 bsmaglick@firstam com
Agent Underwriting Divisional Leadership
Len Prescott, Esq. VP, Director of Agency Underwriting
305 908 6252
305 900 8427
Steve Zablocki
Senior Underwriting Counsel
608 286 3224 szablocki@firstam com
Julie Angelakos
Regional Underwriting Director
630 799 7123 jangelakos@firstam com
Randy Paslay VP, Divisional Underwriting
714 250 8607
951 529 4664
Scams, Frauds and all that Jazz
Steve Zablocki, Senior Underwriting Counsel
Stay vigilant. Scammers and rip-off artists are out there trying to hone their tradecraft Watch for situations where things “don’t feel right”. Watch for deals that feel peculiar. Is the Seller getting upset because you are offering to overnight documents to their home address? Is the Seller giving you an out-ofstate address? Is there some excuse or comment that just feels out of sorts?
Is the Seller demanding things proceed quickly? Why? What’s the rush? If their demands don’t feel genuine, slow things down and press them on their demands. Engage the Seller and ask them about the property. Get an idea of what they know. Most scammers aren’t going to be able to tell you much about the property or any other information about our state. Again, slow things down
If the customer gets upset, let them know you are doing your due diligence. You are trying to safeguard the deal A frustrated scammer may get upset and try to apply pressure. Stand firm unless and until you get comfortable. Much better to keep asking questions until satisfied that to have to fight a bank trying to cancel or claw back a wire. A truly genuine Buyer or Seller will never get upset if you tell them you are protecting their interests and the deal
Again, take a step back. If you feel that your deal might be suspect, give your First American underwriter a call. See what we think. Get a second opinion. We are here to support you and to help prevent fraud.
Trusts: Easier than you think.
Steve Zablocki, Senior Underwriting Counsel
Almost daily, we receive questions on trusts
We are asked who can sign? What about this sub-trust? Who gets the money? Well, we are here to tell you, that in most deals, trusts are easy.
First, who can sign? Is there a full copy of the trust? If we can see it, great We can see who is supposed to be trustee Is the grantor deceased? Can we tell who can act? Are there co-trustees that must act together? One thing to remember is that it is unlikely a successor trustee can delegate or use a power of attorney The trust will have to provide for it What if they don’t want you to see the trust? Don’t be insulted. The whole purpose of a trust is to keep things private. As a result, some people don’t want prying eyes seeing their trust
We can get around that by having the Trustee sign a trust certificate.¹ The trust certificate, among other requirements, must be signed and notarized and must recite that the trust hasn’t been revoked, modified or amended in any manner that would cause the certificate to be incorrect ²
Finally, and best of all for us, is that if someone acts in reliance on a certification trust without knowledge that any representation is incorrect is not liable ³ Meaning that, if you close a deal relying on a trust certificate and it is later found to be wrong, the beneficiaries cannot sue you or the title insurer.
What about situations where there are subtrusts? A parent trust can spin off or create subtrusts for the benefit of beneficiaries To be blunt, it isn’t something we are concerned about. Unless the subject property is conveyed by deed to that sub-trust, that sub-trust’s existence is probably only in existence as a conduit for passing money to a beneficiary We are only concerned about the vested trust. Again, with a certificate of trust in hand reciting the trustee and their powers, we can close the deal The rest is just noise
Can you pay a settlor instead of the trust? It may be a situation where a settlor insists that they do not have a trust bank account It might be something you permit if the settlor (The creator of the trust) gives you written instructions However, if the settlor is deceased and there’s an acting successor trustee, there’s little to no leeway You have to pay the trust Whatever the case, trust us, trusts are easy If you aren’t sure who can act, request a trust certificate. With that, you can easily and confidently close your deal. With any of your trust questions, give your First American underwriter a call
Cancellation and Mutual Release
Steve Zablocki, Senior Underwriting Counsel
Your deal died Buyer disappeared or balked at closing You never received a signed cancellation and mutual release (“CAMR”).
Good news, seller now found a new buyer. Bad news, buyer is nowhere to be found to sign the CAMR Whatever the case might be, you are now stuck with having to pick up the pieces
Why do we need the CAMR? Quite simply because we know that there was a prior buyer. We know there was someone who intended to purchase the property They might have an interest We have knowledge that someone else might claim a right We need to get a document that cancels the previous transaction and releases the buyer and seller from any further relationship. We need something that recognizes that buyer no longer has any rights related to the property
What if the old buyer can’t be found? It may be that we require the realtor to go out to the buyer’s home. Did anyone call them? What steps were taken to reach the buyer? What are the facts? We want to get a CAMR to put ourselves at ease
Yet what happens if we can’t? Sounds like it is time to call your First American underwriter. Will we insure over the issue? Will we require additional steps? It is going to depend. It is one of those issues that require us to look very closely at all the facts Ultimately, our goal is to get your deal number two working However, we won’t blindly proceed. Whatever the case, call us.
Groundwater and the ALTA 41 Water Endorsement
Steve Zablocki, Senior Underwriting Counsel
We all need water. It irrigates our crops and ultimately keeps us alive. For Wisconsin, it is everywhere. It is estimated that there are over 1.2 million billion gallons of water underground.¹ With all that water, the state has no history of permitting anyone to have a separate right or claim interests to ground water Consequently, water rights, unlike minerals, are not a severable real estate interest in Wisconsin
It isn’t the same in other states So much so, that other states permit the severance of ground water from the fee landowner interest Examiners in those states need to determine whether the land conveyance contains ground water rights or if it belongs to another. For us, it’s not an issue. Rather, it is much simpler.
Wisconsin defines groundwater as any of the waters of the state … occurring in a saturated subsurface geological formation of rock or soil ² Historically, a landowner could consume groundwater on their property “with impunity” ³ This right was later curtailed to limit water use so long as it does not cause unreasonable harm to another ⁴
The rule was stated that a possessor of land or his grantee who withdraws ground water from the land and uses it for a beneficial purpose is not subject to liability for interference with the use of water by another, unless the withdrawal of water causes unreasonable harm through lowering the water table or reducing artesian pressure, the ground water forms an underground stream , or the withdrawal of water has a direct and substantial effect upon the water of a watercourse or lake…”⁵
Beyond the standard recited, every well must conform to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ standards Permitting is required for high-capacity wells, wells that pump more than 100,000 gallons per day.⁶
Why does this all matter? It matters when we are asked to issue ALTA 41 Water Series endorsement This endorsement functions similarly to the ALTA 35 series but instead of mineral rights, the interest deals with water rights. That is, it insures against loss or damage resulting from enforced removal or alteration of certain surface improvements due to the exercise by a water right estate owner of the right to use the surface of the land to extract water
Since Wisconsin does not recognize a separate interest for water, issuance of the endorsement is likely something we can easily accommodate On the other hand, if you do see someone recording a claim for water rights in the chain of title, contact underwriting We’d want to analyze and understand the basis for the stated claim.
¹ Wisconsin Water Facts, Wisconsin Water Library, University of Wisconsin - Madison https://waterlibrary aqua wisc edu/water-facts/ ² Wis Stat §160 01(4)
³ Huber v Merkel, 117 Wis 355, 94 N W 2d 354 (1903)
⁴ State v Michels Pipeline Const, Inc , 63 Wis 2d 278, 217 N W 2d 339 (1974)
⁵ State v Michels, 63 Wis 2d at 303
⁶ Wis Stat §281 34
Upcoming Webinars
SAVE THE DATES
➢ Divorce and Probate
October 9th, 2024 | 9:00am – 10:00am CST
➢ Eagle Policies for Owners
November 6th, 2024 | 9:00am – 10:00am CST
➢ Residential Endorsements
December 4th, 2024 | 9:00am – 10:00am CST
To review previous webinar recordings, visit AgentNet® Knowledge
REMINDER: New Rates
WISCONSIN RATES EFFECTIVE JULY 10, 2024
Resources Available on AgentNet® Knowledge under Manuals Tab:
Wisconsin Rate Manual - July 10, 2024
Wisconsin Rate Manual Changes Overview - July 10, 2024
Wisconsin Title Policy Rate Schedule - July 10, 2024
Wisconsin High Liability Title Policy Rate Chart – July 10, 2024
New Rates are available within both AgentNet® and First American’s Comprehensive Calculator (FACC).
The First American Comprehensive Calculator (FACC) can be accessed at facc.firstam.com to confirm and apply accurate rates.
