Estates, Transfers and Titles: Deeds

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 does the granting clause of a deed do?

Answer 2

Express the grantor’s present desire and intention to transfer legal title of a piece of real property to the grantee.

Question 3

What action is necessary for a title to a property to pass to the grantee?

Answer 3

It is necessary for the deed to be delivered to and accepted by the grantee for title to pass.

Question 4

Why is an acknowledgement important if it is not needed to make a deed valid?

Answer 4

The acknowledgement is required for the deed to be recorded. So, a deed without an acknowledgement might endanger a person’s claim to a property.

Question 5

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

Answer 5

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 6

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

Answer 6

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

Question 7

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

Answer 7

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 8

What does the phrase “dedication by deed” mean?

Answer 8

When a subdivision developer turns the subdivision road or the common ground in the subdivision over to the local government, he or she does so by what’s known as dedication or dedication by deed.

Question 9

What does a probate proceeding do?

Answer 9

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 10

What happens if a person dies intestate?

Answer 10

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 11

What is adverse possession?

Answer 11

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 12

How can an owner prevent involuntary alienation by adverse possession?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Legal Title

Answer 13

Someone who possesses all ownership interests of property

Question 14

Equitable title

Answer 14

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 15

When a buyer purchases a parcel of property

Answer 15

acquiring an interest in that property along with all the rights attached to that property

Question 16

when an owner sells a property they…

Answer 16

transfer his or her ownership rights (the title) to the new owner.

Question 17

Voluntary alienation

Answer 17

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 18

Deed

Answer 18

legal instrument used by an owner to transfer title to real estate voluntarily to another party

Question 19

Grantor

Answer 19

the person who transfers the title to real property.

Question 20

Grantee

Answer 20

the person who receives the property from the grantor.

Question 21

Act of Conveyance

Answer 21

expresses the grantor’s present desire and intention to transfer legal title to the grantee.

Question 22

Consideration

Answer 22

the deed must be accompanied by valuable (monetary) or good (love and affection) consideration, but the amount need not reflect the actual price in most cases.

Question 23

Legal Description

Answer 23

which accurately locates and identifies the boundaries of the subject parcel of property by either metes and bounds, lot, block and subdivision, or government survey.

Question 24

Habendum Clause

Answer 24

which describes the type of estate being conveyed

Question 25

Designation Limitations

Answer 25

which dictates how a property may be used or not used.

Question 26

Exemptions and reservations affecting the title

Answer 26

a “subject to” clause, this may say that the transfer is subject to an easement on the property.

Question 27

Delivery and acceptance of the deed

Answer 27

It is necessary for the deed to be delivered to and accepted by the grantee for title to pass.

Question 28

acknowledgement

Answer 28

The grantor must declare before a notary or other authorized person that the grantor’s identity and signature are genuine, and that the deed execution was a free, voluntary act.

Question 29

Recording

Answer 29

Recording the deed gives the public constructive notice of the grantee’s ownership.

Question 30

Most deeds have

Answer 30

Grantor
Grantee
Act of conveyance
Consideration
Legal description
Habendum Clause
Designation of limitations
Exemptions and reservations
Signator of the grantor
Delivery and acceptance of deed
Acknowledgement
Recording

Question 31

In Texas, the minimum requirements for a valid deed include:

Answer 31

properly identifies the parties involved
includes consideration
contains a sufficient and identifiable description of the property
contain words of conveyance
signed by the competent grantor or authorized representative
be delivered to a legitimate grantee and accepted

Question 32

A number of deeds are used to convey real estate. They include the following:

Answer 32

Full covenant and warranty deed
Special warranty deeds
Bargain and sale deed with covenants
Bargain and sale deed without covenants
Quitclaim deed
Executor's deed
Referee's deed

Question 33

Full Covenant and Warranty Deed

Answer 33

a warranty deed warrants the title, not the construction of the real property. A full covenant and warranty deed usually has five covenants.

Question 34

The five basic covenants are:

Answer 34

Covenant of seisin
Covenant against encumbrances
Covenant of quiet enjoyment
Covenant of further assurance
Covenant of warranty forever

Question 35

Special Warranty Deed

Answer 35

the grantor warrants only against title defects or encumbrances not noted on the deed that may have occurred during the grantor’s period of ownership or trusteeship. The deed does not protect the grantee against claims that predate the owner’s period of ownership.

Question 36

overall special warranty covenant

Answer 36

“I own and will defend against my acts only.”

Question 37

overall bargain and sale covenant

Answer 37

“I own, but won’t defend.”

Question 38

quitclaim deed

Answer 38

transfers real and potential interests in a property, whether an interest is known to exist or not. The grantor makes no claim to any interest in the property being conveyed and offers no warrants to protect the grantee.

Question 39

special purpose

Answer 39

deed is one tailored to the requirements of specific parties, properties, and purposes.

Question 40

State law usually requires payment of a documentary stamp tax on a conveyance of real property.

Answer 40

The tax is based on the actual price of the property conveyed, thus enabling taxing authorities to ascertain current market value for ad valorem tax purposes.

Question 41

Involuntary alienation

Answer 41

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 42

Laws of descent

Answer 42

Involuntary alienation occurs when a title-holder dies without a valid will. The state’s statutes of descent and distribution identify heirs and the respective shares of the estate they will receive. In the absence of heirs, title transfers to the state or county by escheat.

Question 43

abandonment

Answer 43

Property that has been abandoned for a statutory period may also escheat to the state or county.

Question 44

foreclosure

Answer 44

A property owner who fails to fulfill loan obligations or pay taxes may lose an estate through foreclosure.

Question 45

eminent domain

Answer 45

Various government and public entities can transfer private property to the public sphere by the power of eminent domain. The transfer is involuntary, even though the owner receives compensation.

Question 46

advisor possessor

Answer 46

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 47

claim of right

Answer 47

is based on the adverse possessor’s occupying and maintaining the property as if he or she were the legal owner. Color of title results when a grantee has obtained defective title, or received title by defective means, but occupies the property as if he or she were the legal owner. A court may hold that a claim of right or a claim of colored title is a valid reason for the possession.

Question 48

Notorious possession and hostile possession

Answer 48

give constructive notice to the public, including the legal owner, that a party other than the legal owner is occupying and claiming to own the property.

Question 49

Estoppel

Answer 49

prevents a person from claiming a right or interest that is inconsistent with the person’s previous statements or acts. As a basis for involuntary alienation, the doctrine of estoppel can prevent an owner from re-claiming a property that was transferred under false pretenses.

Question 50

Will

Answer 50

legal instrument for the voluntary transfer of real and personal property after the owner’s death. It describes how the maker of the will wants the property distributed. A beneficiary of a will is called an heiror devisee. The property transferred by the will is the devise.

Question 51

A court proceeding called probate

Answer 51

generally settles a decedent’s estate, whether the person has died testate (having left a valid will) or intestate (having failed to do so). The probate court’s objectives are to:

Validate the will, if one exists
Identify and settle all claims and outstanding debts against the estate
Distribute the remainder of the estate to the rightful heirs

Question 52

Intestate

Answer 52

If the decedent died without a valid will, he or she is said to have died intestate.

Question 53

If the decedent died with a valid will, he or she is said to have died testate

Answer 53

died testate