Opinion of Abstract of Title
.
OPINION on 4bltract of Title prepared by Dade county Title
In8~rance and Tr~st Company, under Certificate No. 43003, covering
period from the beginning to March 6, 1925 at 8 a. m., coneilting
of 41 entr i88, and contino.at ion thereof by the eame company, under
Certificate No. 48906, oovering the period from March 6, 1925 at
8 a. m. to Kat 26, 1926 at 8 a. m., conaiating of 11 entriea, and
contin~ation thereof by the eame company, under Certificate NO. 61213,
covering the period from May 26, 1925 at 8 a. m. to December 14, 1925
at 8 a. m., ooneieting of 4 entriee, and continuation thereof by
Sec11l'ity Abetract Company, under Oertificate No. 46234, covering the
period from December 14, 1925 to June 9, 1926, coneisting of 2 entriee,
and continuation thereof by Florida 9itle company, under Certificate
No. 77749, cOTering the period trom. June 9, 1926 at 5 p. III. to March
6, 1929 at 8 a. m., coneieting ot 5 entriel, and continaation thereof
b,. J.Uami Beach Abetract and Title Company, under cerUticateNa.3952,
cOTering the period from Karch 5, 1929 at 8 a. m. to June 3, 1935 at
8 a. m., coneilting ot 7 entriel, covering the tollowing delcribed
propert,. in Da4e Oounty, Florida, to-.it.
All of lllook ..... of AtlanUc Heights,
conlieting of loti one to IlK innlu-
aive, aocording to the Plat thereof
recorded in Plat Book 9 at Page 14
of the Public Reoorde of Dade County,
Florida.
Prom an examination ot the above deecribed Abltract of
~itle, and baaing ~ Opinion lolely ~pon the eame, I am of the opin-
ion that al of June 3, 1935 at 8 a. III., the tee limple title to the
above deecribed pro pert,. wal vested in
IlELEN S. PEARSON, a wi,ow,
a~bject to the following.
FIRST. All tazee for the year 1935, while they are not yet
p~able, conetitute liene against the above deecribed premieee and be-
cOllie P81able on November I, 1936.
SBCOBD. Any unpaid intangible property tazes aeeeeled againlt
Helen S. Pearlon aa to the ezietence of which the Abltract ie indefinite.
THIRD. Any and all reetrictione, conditione and limitatione
of record, eepecially thoee eet forth in an inetrwnent to be found in
Deed Book 187 at Page 32 _hereof Whereby buildinge to be erected upon
the property, ezcept garagee and o~tbuildinge, are req~ired to coet at
leaet Five thoueaa4 dollare ($6,000.00) and aleo a race reltriction to
be ~1'un~ in Deed Book 402 at Page 210 thereof wherein a number, perhape
alIi of the property ownere in the eubdivieion agree to limit the ownsr-
ehi~ 01 the property in the eubdivieion to per eons of the Cannaeian race
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ani to flrse and corporatlone compoeed of Caacaelane excl~elvely.
'OURTH: In 1918, by werranty deed recorded in Deed Book
184 at Page 40 thereof, P. L. Watson conveyed all of his "right,
title and intereet" in a tract of land which inel~ded the lsnd nn-
der search to William I. Philllps, and eaid Wateon alao aesigned
to said phillipe "any and all cOlltracts haYing reference to aD,V 01'
the land above described." Thie conveyance was in tr~et for the
~se and benefit of P. L. Watson with power of aale in sald Phillips.
The Abstract d18cloees no prior conveyance to P. L. Wateon and no
nbeeqa.ent cenveyance aUe.1l1ng the lands under search by eaher
said Watson or said Phillips. While a period of approximately 17
years has paesed siaee the exec~tion and delivery of the Deed above
mentioned and al though there were no pr ior conveyam es to nor s~b-
sequent conveyaae.. by the part iee named ae to an,y part of the landa
nnder search, nevertheless, if praoticable, q~lt-cla~ deeds ahoQ1d
be sec~red from said Watson and said Phl1lipe, Joinsd by their res-
pective wivee or, if this is impossible~ an explanatory affidavit
frOlll P. L. Wahon ~ght be e~ff1cient to show tbat he never bad any
lnterest in the lands under search.
FIFIH: The orlg1na1 Plat, filed in 1919, of Atlantic Heights
reeerve, the streete, aven~ee, roads and drivee and riparian rights at
the end of the etreete, ae ehown on the mBP, to the dedicatore and
grants to property ownere in the enbdivieion righte of ingreee alil
egreee and free uee of riparian rights. The dedicatore also reeerve
the rlgM to lay water plpee, raile or polee and w!rea on aD,V etreet
or avenne. A s~beeq~ent corrective Plat, filed in 192~, which ie now
in efte.', omite all reference to the mattere above mentioned. In
1926 pereone deecribing themeelves ae the exec~trix and heire at law
of the former owner and 6edlcator attempted to dedicate the etreete
and other waye to the perpetual lue of the P~blic b~t the inetr~ment
of dedicaHon, which ehOQ1d have met all the reqdremente of a war-
ranty deed, had neither seale nor witneeeee. be nce. it might be con-
tend'edi that none of the streets are p~blic b~t are all private w.ya.
As . practical matter, however, it ie donbtless safe to aSSUMe that
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no effort will ever be made to dispate the finality aAd effeotivenels
ot the dedicatory instrument of 1926.
SIX!H. In 1926 Helen S. Pearson, as Tr~stee wnder the Will
of Walter Beverly Pearson, deceased, conveyed the lands ander learoh
to P. L. ~tson, Inc., a Florida oorporation, but it appears that the
inteAded grantee was P. L. Watson Propertiee, Inc., a Plorida corpora-
tion sinee the latter exec~ted what appears to have been parchaee
money mortgages in favor of Helen S. Pearson, as Trastee etc. If there
was at that time a Florida corporation under the name of P. L. Watson,
Inc., then a quit-claim should be secured from that corporation but if
there was no snch oQrporate entity, then an explanatory affidavit tram
P. L. Watson, should be sufficient to correct this apparent error in the
name of the grantee of Helen S. pearson, as Trustee, eto.
SEVENTH. As stated aboTe, when the land under search was oon-
veyed to P. L. Watson, Inc., mortgages were effected in favor cf Helen
s. Pearlcn, as Trastee etc. by P. L. Watson Properties, Inc., a Florida
.
corpcration, and these mortgagel were later fcreclosed and the property
bo~t at the foreclolare sale in 1930 by Helen S. Pearscn, al Trastee
of the estate of Walter Beverly Pearlon, deceased. Immediately the
property wel conveyed by the trustee to Helen S. Pear Ion , a widow.
As there were two cther beneficiaries of the trast estate of Walter
Beverly Pearson, tc-wit, Prederick Pearson, his lon, and Beatrice
Pearlon, his daughter, and al the instrument creating the trust doel
not expreslly ~ermlt the trustee to convey to herself in her individual
capacity, it is thought to be desirable thet qait-claim deedl be lecared
from the Ion and daughter above mentioned, joined by their respective
spoUlel, if any.
EIGHTH: In 1926 one, S. S. Holmel, acqaired an wndivided
two-thirds interest in the lands under search and assumed and agreed to
pay one-helf of the indebtednels thereon, amounting in the aggregate to
Seventy-five tho~sand dollars ($76,000.00). In the mortgage foreclosure
apcn which the title to the lands under aearch depeAds, " S. S. Holmel
and, if married, Mrs. S. S. HOlmel, his wife," were made parties defeAd-
ant. While it is common practice,where the marital statas of the DS-
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t.nelant 18 Wlltnown, to sue an Wlltnown wite in thll manner, nenrtheless,
sinoe it is not expreeslY permitted by st at Ilte , we reoommend that a
qllit-olaim deed be procured of S. S. HOlmes, joinsd by his wife, or
that a showing be ade that S. S. Holan was IUlIIlarried at the time of
the institlltion of the foreclosure SIlit, to-wit, April 23, 1929, or at some
time sllbseq~nt thereto. Bowever, if it be impossible to eliminate any
apparent claim of dower as above suggested, it oan be said, in favor of
the safety of the title, that the purchaser of the same is sllbrogated to the
rights of the former holder of mortgages aggregating more than Forty
thOUSand dollars 1$40,000.00) which may be revived as liene paramo~t to
any claim of dower on the part of the wife of S. S. Holmes.
1111.,111 The use, occupation and enjoyment of the lands ~der
search are limited by the provisions of tbe Zoning Ordinanoe of the City
of Miami Beach which mIlY be applicable thereto.
TENTH: Any discrepancies or errors in surveys of the property
or etreete and other ways about the same are excepted herefrom and IllliY
be ascertained and correoted only by an accurate survey conducted by
a qualified Civil Engineer but no such errors or discrepancies appear to
exist in fact and our searoh Buggests no reason for suspecting the exist-
eJlOe of aJ1,Y.
ELEVENTH: The rights of partiea in posseJsion other than the
record title owner are excepted herefrom since all perSOns are charged
with notice of the rights of those in possession even thoGBh there be
no record right or claim in or against the lands held in poseeesion.
TWELFTHs Any meohanios', material men's or laborers' liens
against the lands ~der search for work, labor or lllliterial bestowed
upon or placed upon the property within the last three months of the
period covered by the title eearch, sinoe such olaims might constitute
liens against the property without any record thereof.
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~ORE, I am of tbe oplAioA that aa of JUDe 3, 1935 at
e a. m. the fee 8imple title to the aboye described property was
vested in
HELD' S. PtillSOll
8~bject to the above limitations and exoeptions.
RESPECTJULLY 5UBMlTTED, as of June 3, 1935 at 8 a. m.
TO.
Honorable Clau.de A. Renellaw
Oit7 lIaDaser
Miami Beach, Florida