Estates, Transfers and Titles: Deeds Flashcards
What is voluntary alienation?
Voluntary alienation is an unforced transfer of title by sale or gift from an owner to another party.
What does the granting clause of a deed do?
Express the grantor’s present desire and intention to transfer legal title of a piece of real property to the grantee.
What action is necessary for a title to a property to pass to the grantee?
It is necessary for the deed to be delivered to and accepted by the grantee for title to pass.
Why is an acknowledgement important if it is not needed to make a deed valid?
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.
What is important to know about a full covenant and warranty deed?
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.
What is the negative aspect of a bargain and sale deed with covenants?
The deed does not protect the grantee against claims that predate the owner’s period of ownership.
What is a quitclaim deed and what is probably its most common use?
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.
What does the phrase “dedication by deed” mean?
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.
What does a probate proceeding do?
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
What happens if a person dies intestate?
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.
What is adverse possession?
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.
How can an owner prevent involuntary alienation by adverse possession?
By periodically inspecting the property within statutory deadlines and evicting any trespassers found
Legal Title
Someone who possesses all ownership interests of property
Equitable title
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.
When a buyer purchases a parcel of property
acquiring an interest in that property along with all the rights attached to that property
when an owner sells a property they…
transfer his or her ownership rights (the title) to the new owner.
Voluntary alienation
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.
Deed
legal instrument used by an owner to transfer title to real estate voluntarily to another party
Grantor
the person who transfers the title to real property.
Grantee
the person who receives the property from the grantor.
Act of Conveyance
expresses the grantor’s present desire and intention to transfer legal title to the grantee.
Consideration
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.
Legal Description
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.
Habendum Clause
which describes the type of estate being conveyed
Designation Limitations
which dictates how a property may be used or not used.
Exemptions and reservations affecting the title
a “subject to” clause, this may say that the transfer is subject to an easement on the property.
Delivery and acceptance of the deed
It is necessary for the deed to be delivered to and accepted by the grantee for title to pass.
acknowledgement
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.
Recording
Recording the deed gives the public constructive notice of the grantee’s ownership.
Most deeds have
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
In Texas, the minimum requirements for a valid deed include:
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
A number of deeds are used to convey real estate. They include the following:
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
Full Covenant and Warranty Deed
a warranty deed warrants the title, not the construction of the real property. A full covenant and warranty deed usually has five covenants.
The five basic covenants are:
Covenant of seisin Covenant against encumbrances Covenant of quiet enjoyment Covenant of further assurance Covenant of warranty forever
Special Warranty Deed
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.
overall special warranty covenant
“I own and will defend against my acts only.”
overall bargain and sale covenant
“I own, but won’t defend.”
quitclaim deed
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.
special purpose
deed is one tailored to the requirements of specific parties, properties, and purposes.
State law usually requires payment of a documentary stamp tax on a conveyance of real property.
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.
Involuntary alienation
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.
Laws of descent
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.
abandonment
Property that has been abandoned for a statutory period may also escheat to the state or county.
foreclosure
A property owner who fails to fulfill loan obligations or pay taxes may lose an estate through foreclosure.
eminent domain
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.
advisor possessor
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.
claim of right
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.
Notorious possession and hostile possession
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.
Estoppel
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.
Will
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.
A court proceeding called probate
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
Intestate
If the decedent died without a valid will, he or she is said to have died intestate.
If the decedent died with a valid will, he or she is said to have died testate
died testate
