Lighthouse Point Quiet Title Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents homeowners, investors, heirs, and former business partners in Lighthouse Point who need a court to say, once and for all, who owns a piece of real estate. If you are looking for a Lighthouse Point quiet title attorney, you are probably dealing with a recorded deed you do not recognize, a former co-owner who still shows up in the chain of title, an inherited property with muddled paperwork, or a sale that has stalled because a title company will not insure over a cloud on the record. The firm handles these disputes for clients in Lighthouse Point, throughout Broward County, and across Palm Beach County.

A quiet title case is the tool Florida courts provide for exactly this problem. Instead of arguing with a title insurer or chasing a person who will not sign a release, you file a lawsuit asking a circuit judge to determine who holds title and to enter a judgment that clears away competing claims. A property can sit unsellable and unfinanceable for years over a defect that a single judgment would resolve, so it pays to understand the process before you commit to it.

What a Florida Quiet Title Action Actually Does

Florida’s quiet title statute gives the circuit court authority over any person claiming legal or equitable title to land, and over disputes where two or more people claim the same land under a common source of title. The court can also be asked to cancel a deed or other recorded instrument held by someone who is not the rightful owner, which removes the cloud from the record. The outcome is a judgment that can be recorded and that title companies will generally rely on when they decide whether to insure a sale or a refinance.

The suit can be filed in any county where some part of the land sits. For a Lighthouse Point property, that means Broward County, which falls within the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Broward also has a complex business division that handles certain business-entity disputes, which can matter when the title problem grows out of a partnership or LLC fight. A lawyer who regularly litigates real estate and business cases can tell you early whether your matter belongs in the general civil division or whether the business side of the dispute changes where it should be heard.

One requirement catches people off guard. Florida’s statute expects the plaintiff to trace, or deraign, title back at least seven years before filing, unless the court orders otherwise. That means assembling the recorded history of the property, which is real work, and gaps in that history are often where the dispute lives. When the claim rests on an alleged fraudulent attempt to convey the property, the statute allows the case to proceed under a summary procedure and directs the court to advance it on the calendar, which can shorten the timeline considerably.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for a Title Dispute

The Andrew M. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida courts since his admission to The Florida Bar in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. Joining him is Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts.

The firm serves clients in Lighthouse Point, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County. Its work covers partition actions, title disputes, quiet title cases, failed closings, purchase and sale contract disputes, and emergency injunctions, which together cover the situations in which title problems usually arise. The firm also represents out of state clients, particularly from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, who own Florida property and need a local litigator to handle court appearances so they do not have to travel for every hearing.

Recent results show the kind of real estate work the firm does. After a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Title cases are won on documents and the history of the parties’ dealings, and the firm prepares them with that in mind.

The firm practices as a true team, so everyone working on your file knows it. The firm has a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court, and it looks for the resolution that fits a client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake. Many matters also come to the firm through referrals from other attorneys, including lawyers outside Florida whose clients hold Florida property.

Situations That Lead to Quiet Title Cases

• Former Business Partners and Co-Investors: A property bought through a partnership or LLC can end up with unclear ownership after the business breaks up, especially when one partner deeded property in or out without the other’s agreement. Quiet title is often paired with claims over operating agreements and company funds.
• Inherited Property with Broken Chains of Title: Siblings and other heirs frequently inherit a Broward home without ever recording the probate paperwork correctly, leaving the record showing a deceased owner or competing claimants.
• Fraudulent or Forged Deeds: A deed recorded through forgery, impersonation, or a sham transfer can be cancelled by the court, and Florida’s statute provides an expedited path for fraud-based claims.
• Adverse Possession Claims: Someone who has occupied land openly and exclusively may claim ownership, while an owner may need to defend against that claim or confirm title in their own favor. Florida requires seven years of continuous possession, and claims without color of title carry additional filing requirements with the county property appraiser.
• Boundary and Competing Ownership Claims: Overlapping legal descriptions, old easements, and conflicting surveys can leave two parties each holding paper that appears to support their claim to the same strip of land.
• Unreleased Liens and Stale Recorded Instruments: Old mortgages, satisfied loans never formally released, and recorded agreements that no longer reflect reality can block a sale until a court clears them.
• Co-Owners Who Will Not Cooperate: When owners disagree about selling, a partition action may be the right companion or alternative to a title claim, since partition divides the property or orders it sold and the proceeds split among the owners.

What to Do If You Think Your Title Is Clouded

Start by getting the documents in front of you. Pull the recorded deeds and any mortgages or liens from the Broward County records, collect your closing file and title insurance policy, and note exactly what looks wrong: a name that should not be there, a deed you never signed, a gap in the transfer history. If a title company or lender flagged the issue, get its objection in writing, because the specific defect it identifies tells a lawyer what the lawsuit needs to fix.

Check your title insurance policy before anything else. An owner’s policy may cover the cost of defending against a covered title defect, and the insurer may have notice requirements. Reporting the problem promptly keeps that option available. Do not sign a quitclaim deed or any release at the request of someone else until a lawyer has read it, since a document meant to resolve a dispute can quietly give away your position.

Timing matters in a few specific ways. Florida generally bars a suit to recover real property unless the plaintiff or a predecessor held possession within seven years before filing. Actions on written contracts have a five-year limit, fraud claims run four years from discovery with an outer cap of twelve years, and an action for specific performance has a one-year period. If your title problem traces back to a contract or an alleged fraud, those clocks may be running alongside the quiet title claim.

Quiet title cases in Lighthouse Point are filed in Broward County Circuit Court, which sits at the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale, with regional courthouses elsewhere in the county. If a related federal claim is involved, the Southern District of Florida holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Our team handles the filings and appearances, so you will not need to manage the court process yourself. Expect the case to begin with a title search, a review of the recorded chain, and an effort to identify and serve every person with a possible interest, because a judgment only binds the parties who were properly brought into the case.

When a Title Fight Is Really a Business or Partition Dispute

Many title cases are not really about paperwork. They grow out of a relationship that fell apart. Partners who bought property together, family members who share ownership of a building, or investors whose company holds the deed may find that clearing title requires resolving the underlying ownership dispute first. In those cases the title claim may sit beside claims for breach of an operating agreement, breach of fiduciary duty, or an accounting of company funds.

Florida’s LLC statute lets a member ask a circuit court to dissolve the company on grounds that include deadlock that threatens irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of assets, and conduct that makes it not reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement. The court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of the petitioning member. Corporations have a parallel framework, including a right for remaining shareholders to elect to purchase a petitioner’s shares at fair value. Where real estate is the main company asset, the way these claims resolve often decides who ends up with the property.

Partition follows its own rules. Florida partition actions are heard in chancery, where the court can divide land physically or, when that would prejudice the owners, order it sold at public auction and divide the proceeds by ownership share. If the property qualifies as heirs property, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies and adds protections, including a process that gives other cotenants a chance to buy out the person seeking partition. When there is an urgent risk that someone will sell, encumber, or strip value from the property, the firm also handles temporary and permanent injunctions to hold the status quo while the case proceeds.

Questions Lighthouse Point Property Owners Ask About Quiet Title

What is a quiet title action?

It is a lawsuit asking a Florida circuit court to determine who owns real property and to eliminate competing claims or recorded documents that cloud the title. The result is a judgment that can be recorded.

How long does a quiet title case take?

It depends on whether anyone contests it and how many parties must be served. An uncontested case with clear records moves faster, while a disputed case with several claimants, a fraud allegation, or missing owners can take considerably longer. Fraud-based claims can qualify for an expedited procedure.

Who can file a quiet title action?

Any person claiming legal or equitable title to the land can file, and so can someone who needs to remove a conveyance or recorded instrument held by a person who is not the rightful owner.

Where is the case filed if my property is in Lighthouse Point?

The suit may be filed in the county where any part of the land is located. For Lighthouse Point property, that is Broward County, within the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.

What does “deraigning title” mean?

It means tracing the recorded ownership history of the property. Florida expects a plaintiff to do this for at least seven years before filing, unless the court orders something different. Gaps or irregularities in that history often explain the dispute.

Can someone really take my property through adverse possession in Florida?

Yes, but the requirements are strict. The claimant must show actual, continuous possession for seven years under a claim of title that excludes others, and a claim without color of title requires a filing with the county property appraiser that includes a full legal description. Claims under color of title depend on the instrument having been recorded.

Can I sell my property while a quiet title case is pending?

Technically possible, but practically difficult. Buyers and lenders typically will not close while an ownership claim is unresolved, and a pending case may be recorded in a way that gives notice to the public. Most owners wait for the judgment or negotiate a resolution first.

Will my title insurance cover the cost of fixing the problem?

It may, depending on the policy and whether the defect is covered and was not excluded. Notify the insurer promptly and have a lawyer review the policy, since late notice can complicate a claim.

What if the other claimant is a family member or former business partner?

These cases carry personal weight beyond the property, and the firm handles them with discretion while protecting your financial interests. Sometimes a negotiated resolution or mediation clears title faster and at lower cost than a trial.

Is a quiet title action the same as a partition action?

No. Quiet title decides who owns the property and clears competing claims. Partition assumes the owners are known and asks the court to divide the land or order it sold and the proceeds shared. Some disputes need both.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Can you handle this without my traveling to Florida?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with Florida property, handling local court appearances and keeping you informed throughout.

Quiet Title Representation From Lighthouse Point Across South Florida

The firm represents property owners in Lighthouse Point and across Broward County, including neighboring Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Oakland Park, Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Tamarac, Sunrise, Plantation, Davie, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale. Our attorneys also work with clients in Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Wellington, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and West Palm Beach.

Whether the property is a waterfront home near the Intracoastal, a commercial building, a vacant lot, or a share of an investment held with former partners, the same questions apply: who holds title, what is clouding it, and what will it take to clear it. We also serve clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own real estate or business interests in South Florida.

Speak With a Lighthouse Point Quiet Title Attorney

A clouded title rarely fixes itself, and waiting can leave you unable to sell, refinance, or use the property as you intended. If you need a Lighthouse Point quiet title attorney, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your documents, explain whether quiet title, partition, or another remedy fits, and tell you plainly what the case is likely to involve. Call to schedule a consultation and get your title question in front of a lawyer who litigates these disputes in South Florida courts.