Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/363

* TITLE. 313 TITLES OF HONOR. any person without a right in any other person to take Ijy surviviirsliip it shall, on his death, notwithstanding an.y testamentary disposition, devolve to and become vested in his personal representative or representatives from time to time as if it were a chattel real vesting in them or him." Another provision is for the adminis- tration of real estate as if it were personalty— the personal representative carries out the wishes of the testator subject to any claims against the estate, and this simplifies the system of registra- tion. The English system is not yet perfect and titles are not as freely transferred there as in the United States. Several of the United States have registration acts somewhat resembling the Torrens system (q.v.). Massachusetts has established a system under which two judges conduct hearings to es- tablish title, and. on being convinced that a per- son has a valid fee-simple title, they may eon- firm the title and order its registration. Many of the English colonics have registration systems. Germany has a peculiar system under which a sort of ledger account of a title is kept. Most of the United States have systems for recording deeds and other instruments alTecting real estate. A record of a deed or incumbrance serves merely to give constructive notice of its existence to the public, and does not involve any public guaranty as to the title. Consult: Morris, A Summari/ of the Law of Land and Mortgage Registration; Morris, Registration of Titles. TITLE DEEDS. The instruments in writing which constitute the evidences of the title of the owner of real pro])erty. See Deed ; Conveyance ; Abstr.ct of Title. TITLE INSURANCE. An agreement or undertaking by which the insurer, for a valua- ble consideration, contracts to indemnify the insured in a specified amoimt against loss or damage suffered because of defects of title to real estate in which he has some insurable in- terest. The business of title insurance is of comparatively recent growth. The first title insurance company was organized in Philadel- phia in 1876, but the development of the busi- ness has been most rapid since about 1885. Con- tracts of title insurance are subject to the same rules as govern other classes of insurance con- tracts. The policy is usually granted upon written application, which is made a part of the policy and which contains statements or promises which are deemed to be warranties or conditions of the policy. Generally the liability of the insurer is not limited in point of time, and the undertaking is to indemnify the insured against all loss or damage resulting from any defect in the title not known or specified in the policy, including defects in the chain of title and incumbrances of every description existing at the time the insurance is effected. When the undertaking of the policy is to indemnify against loss or damage only, the obligation incurred by the insurer is substantially like that of a grantor whose deed contains the usual covenants of warranty. (See CovEN.NT. ) It is not unusual for the policy of title insurance to provide that the insurer shall take the property at an appraised valua- tion in the event that any defect of title is dis- covered rendering the title unmarketable. There are also usually provisions contained in the policy that the insured shall notify the insurer of any claim or demand against the jnoperty founded on any defect of title insured against, and that the insurer shall be permitted to bring or defend actions in the name of the insured, but at its own expense, for the purpose of establishing that the title is free from such defect. When the insured is a mortgagor, pro- vision may be made in the policy for the protec- tion of a mortgagee of the property by a mort- gagee's clause making the loss payable to the mortgagee, or the same result may be accom- plished by issuing an independent policy in favor of the mortgagee. There is no fixed method of ascertaining the amount of premiums in title insurance as is the case in life insurance. Experience has shown that the losses under title insurance contracts have been comparatively small, and that in fact an important benefit to be derived from the polic.y of title insurance in addition to the insurance features is the painstaking and ex- haustive examination of the title made by the insuier. In many cases, however, the insuraiu'e feature is of great importance, since there may always be defects of title which an examination of the record title may not disclose. Many title insurance companies possess complete rec- ords and title maps of all real estate within the territory where they do business and have other special facilities for the expert examina- tion of titles. The prospective purchaser of real estate within such territory, by applying for title insurance, may thus procure a com- plete examination of the title before the con- veyance is made. The policy issued may, with the consent of the insured, be transferred to a subsequent purchaser of the property. This, however, is not customary except upon the pay- ment of an additional premium. See Insi'R- .NCE: Conveyance; Deed; Covenant; Record- ing OF Deed.s. Consult Frost, The Law of (liiarantii Insurance (Boston, 1900). TITLES OF HONOR. Designations to which certain persons are legally entitled in conse- quence of possessing particular dignities or of- fices. Titles of honor may be divided into those of sovereignty, superior and inferior, no- bility, greater and lesser, and titles of peeuliar- 1}' official significance. Superior sovereign titles are emperor and king (qq.v.) and, in Turkey and Persia, sultan, and shah (q.v.). Czar and kaiser (qq.v.), from Owsar, correspond to em- peror. Inferior sovereign titles include grand duke (ranking next to king), duke, and prince (qq.v.) in some of the German States, and prince in Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Monaco. Eastern equivalents of the inferior titles are bey, khan (both post-positive), khedive, raja (qq.v.). Greater nobility titles include, in de- scending scale, prince, duke, marquis, count (earl in Great Britain), viscount, and baron (qq.v.). In Great Britain there is no title prince outside of the royal family. In Austria there is no duke, except archduke (q.v.) (of the Imperial family), and in a few princely houses, where the term remains as a sub- title, but is not used; in Germany, no vis- count ; in Russia, no viscount, marquis, or duke, except grand duke (of the Imperial family). Lesser nobility titles include baronet and es- quire (qq.v.), peculiar to Great Britain, and