Compare the title commitment with the contract and list the encumbrances
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Put each exception, requirement and easement from the commitment the lawyer supplies next to the contract clause that mentions it. Flag a name, legal description or encumbrance that appears in one and not the other. Do not say title is marketable.
- What the lawyer must review
- There is no national title statute and no national electronic-settlement system. You read the commitment, the survey if you have one, and the recording law of the state where the land is. Model Rule 1.1 Comment 8 requires you to keep abreast of the benefits and risks of the technology used for that reading. Formal Opinion 512 requires you to check the output rather than accept a generated list of encumbrances. Identity documents and the commitment are information relating to the representation under Rule 1.6.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Potential support includes preparing preliminary structure or wording and identifying points for review. Confirm the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Review operative clauses in the complete document, including definitions, cross-references, schedules and inconsistencies with the instructions.
- Confirm that the wording reflects the client’s instructions and contains no unintended admission, concession or commitment. Check the recipient and tone.
- Verify the applicable jurisdiction and the version of each relevant law, rule or instrument in force at the material time.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase-contract due diligence checklist (United States) | Checklist | AI use Yellow | A buyer-side list for a US purchase contract: title commitment, names and the legal description, pre-1978 lead disclosure, FIRPTA withholding, and loan disclosures if the purchase is financed. |
| Title commitment and closing-document check (United States) | Checklist | AI use Yellow | A closing check that the deed, any mortgage, and the title commitment use the same parties and the same legal description as the purchase contract, with the FIRPTA figure carried from the file note. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.