And, the landowner might have passed away. I understand the reason why someone might not trust the most local government (municipal, state, federal governments

And, the landowner might have passed away. I understand the reason why someone might not trust the most local government (municipal, state, federal governments as appropriate) to manage the registry of landownership complete with dates, dimensions, notables features, and owners, but I find it really weird that problem of knowing exactly who owns what is effectively an orphan in the last resort.