Transferring Real Estate

Question 1

After California became a state, the legislature redefined what was necessary to evidence transfer of California land. The modern evidence of transfer of ownership is…

Answer 1

a deed that is filed in the county recorder’s office to show transfer of ownership.

Question 2

What usually happens to a person’s property who died intestate?

Answer 2

It is distributed to his/her heirs

*Intestate means dying without a will or leaving a defective will. The intestate decedent’s property passes to his or her heirs according to the laws of descent in the state where such real property is located.

Question 3

A will written in the testator’s own handwriting is called a…

Answer 3

holographic will.

Question 4

A man appointed by the court to settle the estate of a person who has died intestate is called a(n)…

Answer 4

administrator.

Question 5

A man who receives a gift or real property by will is called a(n)…

Answer 5

devisee.

Question 6

A man who makes a will is called a(n)…

Answer 6

testator.

Question 7

A man who is the one appointed by the deceased to execute (carry out the terms of) a will is called a(n)….

Answer 7

executor.

Question 8

The process by which land adjacent to a flowing body of water accumulates new soil is called…

Answer 8

accretion.

Question 9

One of the steps necessary to acquire title to real estate by adverse possession is to occupy the property “hostile” to the true owner. In this context,

Answer 9

without permission.

Question 10

The transfer of property by private grant is also called a…

Answer 10

grant deed.

Question 11

The transfer of privately owned land to the public under approval of the Map Act is called…

Answer 11

dedication.

Question 12

A court order directing the county sheriff or another officer to satisfy a judgment out of the debtor’s property is called a..

Answer 12

writ of execution.

Question 13

Steve owns Greenacre but does not want Bob to know. One day, when Steve, Bob, and Mark are together, Bob asks Steve and Mark if one of them owns Greenacre. Mark says yes he owns Greenacre, and Steve (the real owner) doesn’t object. Bob then pays Mark for Greenacre. Which of the following is correct?

Answer 13

Bob owns Greenacre based on the doctrine of equitable estoppel.

• Bob owns Greenacre. Steve is equitably estopped from denying Bob’s ownership. By his conduct (silence), Steve allowed Bob to believe he was buying Greenacre from Mark. Steve will be left with an action for damages against Mark, who has pocketed the money Bob paid for Greenacre.

Question 14

A valid deed must contain…

Answer 14

a granting clause.

Question 15

There is no legal requirement that a deed…

Answer 15

• be witnessed.
• that the grantor’s signature be verified by any third person.

-be supported by consideration.

Question 16

The recording of an instrument gives…

Answer 16

constructive notice.

*Constructive notice is knowledge the law presumes a person has about a particular fact regardless of whether the person knows about the fact or not. Examples of constructive notice would include the proper recording of a deed in the public records or the physical possession of property by an owner or tenant.

Question 17

When executing a grant deed, the grantor makes certain assertions about the property that the grantee must assume to be true, or the deed would be meaningless. These assertions are called…

Answer 17

implied warranties.

Question 18

A document used to transfer legal title from the trustee back to the borrower (trustor) after the debt has been repaid is called a…

Answer 18

deed of reconveyance.

Question 19

If a person dies without leaving a will, that person dies:

Answer 19

intestate.

Question 20

A holographic will has to be the following three things:

Answer 20

• entirely handwritten.
• signed.
• dated.

Question 21

A holographic will does NOT have to be:

Answer 21

-witnessed.

Question 22

Accretion is the process of accumulating new soil:

Answer 22

along a flowing body of water.

Question 23

Land is torn away by the action of water in the process called:

Answer 23

avulsion.

Question 24

Private land can be conveyed for public use or ownership by all of these methods:

Answer 24

• deed.
• statutory dedication.
• common law dedication.

Question 25

Private land can NOT be conveyed for public use or ownership by the following method:

Answer 25

adverse possession.

Question 26

If an owner devotes land to a public use, such as a roadway, a transfer occurs by:

Answer 26

common law dedication.

Question 27

the right of a government agency to take private property for a public use is called:

Answer 27

eminent domain.

Question 28

What does a grant deed require in order to be valid?

Answer 28

• a granting clause.
• the signature of the grantor.
• a proper writing.

Question 29

In order to be valid, a grant deed does NOT require:

Answer 29

• recording.

Question 29

Which of the following deeds is a security instrument?

Answer 29

Trust Deed

Question 30

Which type of deed would be used when the purchaser pays off a loan secured by the real estate?

Answer 30

Reconveyance deed