Closings glossary
Forgery
A falsified signature or instrument in the chain of title. Because a forged deed passes no interest, it sits among the hidden risks a title policy is designed to answer.
Does title insurance cover a forged deed?
Quick Answer
The full definition
A falsified signature or instrument in the chain of title. Because a forged deed passes no interest, it sits among the hidden risks a title policy is designed to answer.
Which related terms should you know?
These are the terms that come up alongside forgery in the same file.
- Chain of title
- The sequence of recorded conveyances of a property, from an earlier known owner to the present one. Gaps and defective links in the chain are what a title search is designed to find.
- Owner's policy
- Title insurance protecting the buyer's ownership interest, issued for the purchase price with a single premium. Coverage continues while the insured or their heirs own the property.
- Power of attorney
- Written authority for one person to act for another. New York requires the statutory short form for most real property transactions, with specific execution formalities.
- Cloud on title
- Any claim or encumbrance that may impair the owner's title. New York owners resolve the serious ones through a quiet title action under RPAPL Article 15.
- Title insurance
- Insurance against loss from title defects that existed before the policy date. New York premiums come from a filed rate schedule, so the figure is calculated rather than negotiated.
Where does forgery come up in a New York City closing?
A Brooklyn deed was signed by a relative using a revoked power of attorney, and the heirs surface four years after the sale to challenge the transfer.
What else should you read before closing?
Questions this raises
- What does title insurance cover?Old liens, recording errors, forged deeds, undisclosed heirs, easements: what a New York title policy covers, what Schedule B excludes, and how cla...
- Do I need an owner's title policy if my lender already requires one?A lender's policy protects the bank, not you, and ends when the loan is paid. What an owner's policy adds on a New York purchase, and what it costs...
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