Obtaining a “warranty of title” in a deed sounds comforting.

Buyers hear protection.
Sellers hear boilerplate.
I hear future problems.

Most warranty disputes don’t happen because someone lied. They happen because someone signed language they didn’t actually understand—and didn’t realize how long that promise lasts.

What a Warranty of Title Really Is

A warranty of title is not a statement of confidence. It’s a risk allocation.

When you give a warranty, you are promising two things:

  1. That you own what you’re conveying, and

  2. That if someone later proves you don’t, you’ll deal with the consequences.

In Texas, a general warranty deed typically means the grantor is promising that:

  • they own the interest conveyed,

  • the title is free from undisclosed encumbrances, and

  • they will defend the grantee against lawful claims arising at any point in time, including before the grantor ever owned the property.

That last part is where people get hurt. A warranty doesn’t care whether the problem was your fault. It only cares about who agreed to stand behind the title.

General Warranty vs. Special Warranty

This distinction actually matters. A lot.

General Warranty

A general warranty covers defects anywhere in the chain of title, even those created decades before the grantor acquired the property.

If a title defect from 50 years ago surfaces, the grantor is still on the hook. That’s why general warranties are common in residential transactions, because a title insurance company is usually absorbing that risk. Individual sellers almost never should be.

Special Warranty

A special warranty is narrower and more realistic.

It typically warrants only that the grantor didn’t impair title during their period of ownership. If the defect predates them, the buyer bears the risk.

That single limitation explains why special warranty deeds dominate commercial and mineral transactions.

Why This Gets Dangerous in Mineral Deals

Warranty problems show up far more often in mineral conveyances than surface deals for one simple reason: mineral title is messy. You’re often dealing with fractional ownership, layered reservations, probates that were never properly resolved, NPRIs, ambiguous old deeds, and title that hasn’t been fully examined in decades.

When someone conveys minerals with a general warranty, they may be warranting interests they never actually owned. I’ve seen ordinary mineral sales quietly turn into massive liabilities because someone treated the warranty clause as harmless boilerplate.

Warranty Does Not Mean “My Math Is Right”

This is where people really misunderstand things.

A warranty of title is not a statement that your title analysis is correct. It is a promise that if it turns out not to be correct, you will pay for it.

You can honestly believe you own 10 Net Mineral Acres, convey them with a general warranty, and still be liable if you only owned 5. Good faith doesn’t narrow the warranty. The deed language does.

How Warranty Problems Actually Surface

Warranty claims almost never appear immediately.

They show up later – sometimes much later- when:

  • a competing claimant appears,

  • a title opinion is updated,

  • the property is sold again,

  • production begins, or

  • litigation forces the issue.

By then, the original transaction feels ancient. But the warranty is still alive, and people are often shocked to learn they’re still responsible.

“But the Deed Said ‘As Is’”

“As is” clauses don’t save you here.

They address condition, not title. If a deed contains a warranty of title, disclaimers about knowledge or condition don’t undo it. The warranty stands unless it’s expressly limited or disclaimed.

When Warranty and Title Math Collide

Warranty issues almost always intersect with bad math:

  • incorrect Net Mineral Acre calculations,

  • overconveyances,

  • misidentified interests, or

  • confusion over fixed versus floating royalties.

If you warrant an interest you don’t actually own—even unintentionally—the warranty fills the gap.

That’s why title analysis and warranty language are not separate issues. They’re the same problem viewed from different angles.

Why Special Warranty Is Often the Default in Mineral Deals

There’s a reason experienced oil and gas lawyers default to special warranty or no warranty at all in many mineral transactions.

It reflects imperfect title, aligns risk with control, and avoids turning a conveyance into an insurance policy.

A general warranty can make sense in the right context. But it should be intentional, negotiated, and understood, not dropped in because “that’s what the form says.”

The Practical Test

If someone can’t answer these questions clearly, the warranty risk hasn’t been thought through:

  • What interest am I actually conveying?

  • How confident am I in that calculation?

  • How far back am I willing to stand behind the title?

  • Who bears the risk if the math is wrong?

If the honest answer is “I hadn’t thought about that,” the deed needs another look.