P.O. Box 7 • 215 North Lake Avenue
Phillips, WI 54555
Phone: 715-339-2196
Fax: 715-339-4664
P.O. Box 151 • 170 North 4th Avenue
Park Falls, WI 54552
Phone: 715-762-3258
Fax: 715-762-3289
Real Estate
Title Insurance
At Slaby, Deda, Marshall, Reinhard & Writz, we have our
own in-house title insurance company to assist you when
you are purchasing or refinancing real estate. Title
insurance policies insure against unknown claims made
regarding ownership of real estate, the legal description,
etc. Part of a title insurance company’s job occurs before
the sale is completed, as they research the background
and status of the title in an effort to ensure that it is a
clear title. A “clear title” refers to its being free of any
liens. This job is done by tracing the chain of title, and
verifying that each sale and purchase was done
according to the proper laws and by the proper parties.
Because we are a title insurance agency, we can be your
one-stop shop for real estate closings.
Closing Services
We also handle closings concerning real estate
purchases. At closing, the title of the property is
transferred from the seller to the buyer. This transfer is
achieved through the signing of multiple documents that
together achieve the change in title. These documents
can include the property deed, bill of sale, transfer tax
return, closing statement, and whatever else is
necessary. The closing statement indicates the various
fees associated with closing payable by the buyer and the
seller. The law firm acts as the “middle man” to ensure
that the money is paid before the deed is recorded and
that we have the deed in our possession before the
money is paid. We have an attorney who will act as the
closing agent, will prepare the relevant documents for
the closing, walk both the buyer and seller through the
process, and record the deed following the closing.
Complex Real Estate Matters
At Slaby, Deda, Marshall, Reinhard & Writz, we also are
prepared to litigate complex real estate issues that may
arise. Our attorneys have years of experience in dealing
with a plethora of complicated real estate issues such as
claims of adverse possession, prescriptive easements, or
easements of necessity, among others.
Adverse Possession
Claims of adverse possession typically arise from
boundary disputes between neighbors. To illustrate a
typical adverse possession claim, imagine two neighbors,
Neighbor A and Neighbor B. Soon after moving into his
house, Neighbor A put up a fence in order to keep his
dog in his yard. He relied on what his Realtor had told
him regarding the boundaries of his yard when doing so.
Neighbor B later moves into the neighborhood, and does
not question Neighbor A’s placement of the fence. Years
later, a survey is done, and it reveals the fence to have
been placed on Neighbor B’s land. The survey may show
that Neighbor B owns land that Neighbor A had treated
as, and everyone recognized as, his own, but through
adverse possession, Neighbor B’s “true” ownership may
be challenged. If Neighbor A treated the land as his own
for the requisite amount of time and fulfilled certain
statutory requirements, such as open and notorious
possession, among others, ownership may be transferred
to him. Adverse possession claims can be a means of
maintaining the status quo to those who have believed
they owned a particular piece of land for a long time.