Conveyance of Title

Question 1

What is voluntary alienation?

Answer 1

Voluntary alienation is an unforced transfer of title by sale or gift from an owner to another party.

Question 2

What is important to know about a full covenant and warranty deed?

Answer 2

It is the deed most used in real estate transfers and offers the greatest protection of any deed. With this type of deed the grantor gives certain covenants or warranties that promise the grantee will have ownership of the property that is unchallenged.

Question 3

What is the negative aspect of a bargain and sale deed with covenants?

Answer 3

The deed does not protect the grantee against claims that predate the owner’s period of ownership.

Question 4

What is a quitclaim deed and what is probably its most common use?

Answer 4

With a quitclaim deed, the grantor makes no claim to any interest in the property being conveyed and offers no warrants to protect the grantee. It is often used in divorce settlements.

Question 5

How can an owner prevent involuntary alienation by adverse possession?

Answer 5

By periodically inspecting the property within statutory deadlines and evicting any trespassers found

Question 6

What is adverse possession?

Answer 6

The process by which an owner can lose title to his or her property because an adverse possessor entered, occupied, and used the property without the knowledge or consent of the owner, or with the knowledge of the owner who failed to take any action over a statutory period of time.

Question 7

Define the process of Escheat?

Answer 7

Escheat is an involuntary alienation common law doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in “limbo” without recognized ownership.

Question 8

Define Estoppel

Answer 8

Estoppel prevents a person from claiming a right or interest that is inconsistent with the person’s previous statements or acts.

Question 9

What happens if a person dies intestate?

Answer 9

If there are heirs, the estate will pass to them according to title by descent or the state’s laws of succession. If there are no heirs, the estate will go to the state or county after all claims and debts have been settled.

Question 10

What does a probate proceeding do?

Answer 10

Validates the will, if one exists
Identifies and settles all claims and outstanding debts against the estate
Distributes the remainder of the estate to the rightful heirs

Question 11

Explain a nuncupative will

Answer 11

Made orally, and written down by a witness; generally not valid for the transfer of real property

Question 12

Define a will

Answer 12

A will, or more properly a last will and testament is a legal instrument for the voluntary transfer of real and personal property after the owner’s death.

Question 13

Where must documents regarding interests in property be recorded?

Answer 13

In the office of the county clerk in the county in which the property is located

Question 14

What is constructive notice?

Answer 14

Constructive notice, or legal notice, is knowledge of a fact that a person could have or should have obtained

Question 15

The Torrens system differs from other title recording systems how?

Answer 15

Title passes only when the conveyance has been duly registered on the title certificate itself

Question 16

The best method of disclosing constructive notice is what?

Answer 16

By recordation of ownership documents in public records

Question 17

Define the term marketable title.

Answer 17

A marketable title is one that is so free of defects that the buyer is certain he or she will not have to defend the title.

Question 18

What is the chain of title?

Answer 18

Chain of title refers to the succession of property owners of record dating back to the original grant of title from the state to a private party.

Question 19

What does a title search reveal?

Answer 19

The legal description of the property
The owners of record
Any outstanding liens or encumbrances on the property

Question 20

Who needs title insurance and why?

Answer 20

Both the buyer and the lender need title insurance. Insurance for the buyer ensures a clear title and protects his or her investment. Insurance for the lender protects the lender’s interest in the property.

Question 21

When a buyer purchases a parcel of property,

Answer 21

he or she is acquiring an interest in that property along with all the rights attached to that property. When an owner sells a parcel of property, the owner is choosing to transfer his or her ownership rights (the title) to the new owner.

Question 22

This transfer of title to real estate, also called alienation

Answer 22

occurs voluntarily and involuntarily. When the transfer uses a written instrument, the transfer is called a conveyance.

Question 23

Voluntary alienation

Answer 23

is an unforced transfer of title by sale or gift from an owner to another party. If the transferor is a government entity and the recipient is a private party, the conveyance is a public grant. If the transferor is a private party, the conveyance is a private grant.

Question 24

A living owner makes a private grant by means of a

Answer 24

deed of conveyance, or deed. A private grant that occurs when the owner dies is a transfer by will.

Question 25

A deed is a legal instrument used by an owner to

Answer 25

transfer title to real estate voluntarily to another party.

Question 26

Most deeds have the following elements:

Answer 26

Grantor
Grantee
Act of conveyance
Consideration
Legal description
Habendum clause
Designation of limitations
Exemptions and reservations affecting the title
Signature of the grantor
Delivery and acceptance of the deed
Acknowledgement
Recording

Question 27

In Texas, warranty deeds are mostly implied by

Answer 27

the use of the language in state statutes, i.e. “grant, bargain, and sell.”

Question 28

A full covenant and warranty deed

Answer 28

is the deed most used in real estate transfers and offers the greatest protection of any deed.

Question 29

A quitclaim deed

Answer 29

transfers real and potential interests in a property, whether an interest is known to exist or not.

Question 30

Involuntary alienation

Answer 30

is a transfer of title to real property without the owner’s consent. Involuntary alienation occurs primarily by the processes of descent and distribution, escheat, foreclosure, eminent domain, adverse possession, and estoppel.

Question 31

Adverse posessor

Answer 31

is someone who enters, occupies, and uses another’s property without the knowledge or consent of the owner, or with the knowledge of an owner who fails to take any action over a statutory period of time.

Question 32

Etoppel

Answer 32

prevents a person from claiming a right or interest that is inconsistent with the person’s previous statements or acts.

Question 33

As a basis for involuntary alienation,

Answer 33

the doctrine of estoppel can prevent an owner from re-claiming a property that was transferred under false pretenses.

Question 34

Someone who possesses all ownership interests owns

Answer 34

owns legal title to the property. Legal title is distinct from equitable title, which is the interest or right to obtain legal title to a property in accordance with a sale or mortgage contract between the legal owner and a buyer or creditor.

Question 35

A will or more properly a last will and testament is a

Answer 35

legal instrument for the voluntary transfer of real and personal property after the owner’s death.

Question 36

Texas law says that unless the documents regarding a property have been recorded

Answer 36

a deed or mortgage alone for a subsequent buyer is not effective.

Question 37

Texas requires that all documents relating to any interest in land must be recorded

Answer 37

in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the property is located.

Question 38

Constructive notice, or legal notice

Answer 38

is knowledge of a fact that a person could have or should have obtained. The foremost method of imparting constructive notice is by recordation of ownership documents in public records, specifically, title records.

Question 39

A seller is required to deliver a marketable title at closing

Answer 39

A marketable title is one that is so free of defects that the buyer is certain he or she will not have to defend the title. In order to deliver a marketable title, the seller must have proof of ownership of the property, also known as evidence of title.

Question 40

Chain of title refers to the succession of property owners of record dating back to the original grant of title from the state to a private party

Answer 40

If there is a missing link in the chronology of owners, or if there was a defective conveyance, the chain is said to be broken, resulting in a clouded title to the property. To remove the cloud, an owner may need to initiate a suit to quiet title, which clears the title record of any unrecorded claims.

Question 41

Before a lender will agree to lend money on a property, the lender will order a title search on the property. The title search reveals:

Answer 41

The legal description of the property
The owners of record
Any outstanding liens or encumbrances on the property

Question 42

A lien

Answer 42

is an indication of debt secured by the property.

Question 43

An encumbrance

Answer 43

indicates that some other party has some rights or claim to the property.

Question 44

An abstract and opinion

Answer 44

is an historical summary of all consecutive grants, conveyances, wills, records and judicial proceedings that affect the title to a particular property.

Question 45

A title insurance policy

Answer 45

is commonly accepted as the best evidence of marketable title. Title insurance combines the abstracting process with an insurance program.