Wild Deed is a deed that has been recorded but cannot be connected to the property’s chain of title. This usually occurs when a deed is recorded before the grantor’s own deed has been recorded, or when a prior conveyance was never recorded at all. Because the deed cannot be traced through the official sequence of recorded ownership, it does not provide constructive notice to later purchasers, even though it appears in the public records.
Wild deeds can create confusion during a title search because they fall outside the property’s established chain of title. A purchaser or lender examining the records is generally not expected to discover a wild deed, and a later buyer who acquires the property in good faith may take title free of any interest claimed under it. For this reason, title companies carefully review the chain of title to identify gaps or recording errors, and title insurance may be needed to protect against losses resulting from undiscovered defects.
