Vocabulary: Chapter 9- Transfer of Title

Question 1

Acknowledgment

Answer 1

A formal declaration made before a duly authorized officer, usually a notary public, by a person who has signed a document

Question 2

Adverse Possession

Answer 2

The actual, open, notorious, hostile, and continuous possession of another’s land under a claim of title. Possession for a statutory period may be a mens of acquiring title

Question 3

Bargain and Sale Deed

Answer 3

A deed that carries with it no warranties against liens or other encumbrances but that does imply that the grantor has the right to convey title. The grantor may add warranties to the deed at his or her discretion

Question 4

Deed

Answer 4

A written instrument that, when executed and delivered, conveys title to or an interest in real estate

Question 5

Deed of Trust

Answer 5

An instrument used to create a mortgage lien by which the borrower conveys title to a trustee, who holds it as security for the benefit of the note holder (the lender); also called a Trust deed

Question 6

Devise

Answer 6

A gift of real property by will. The donor is the devisor, and the recipient is the devisee

Question 7

General Warranty Deed

Answer 7

A deed in which the grantor fully warrants good, clear title to the premises. Used in most real estate deed transfers, a general warranty deed offers the greatest protection of any deed

Question 8

Grantee

Answer 8

A person who receives a transfer of real property from a grantor

Question 9

Granting Clause

Answer 9

Words in a deed of conveyance that state the grantor’s intention to convey the property at the present time. This clause is generally worded as “convey and warrant”;”grant”;”grant, bargain, and sell”;or the like

Question 10

Grantor

Answer 10

The owner transferring title to or an interest in real property to a grantee

Question 11

Habendum Clause

Answer 11

The part of a deed beginning with the words “to have and to hold,” following the granting clause and defining the extent of ownership the grantor is conveying

Question 12

Heirs

Answer 12

One who might inherit or succeed to an interest in land under the state law of descent when the owner dies without leaving a valid will

Question 13

Intestate

Answer 13

The condition of a property owner who dies without leaving a valid will. Title to the property will pass to the decedent’s heirs as provided in the stat law of decent

Question 14

Involuntary Alienation

Answer 14

The act of transferring property to another. Alienation may be voluntary, such as by gift or sale, or involuntary, as through eminent domain or adverse possession

Question 15

Probate

Answer 15

A legal process by which a court determines who will inherit a decedent’s property and what the estate’s assets are

Question 16

Quitclaim Deed

Answer 16

A conveyance by which the grantor transfers whatever interest he or she has in the real estate, without warranties or obligations

Question 17

Reconveyance Deed

Answer 17

A deed used by a trustee under a deed of trust to return title to the trustor

Question 18

Special Warranty Deed

Answer 18

A deed in which the grantor warrants, or guarantees, the title only against defects arising during the period of his or her tenure and ownership of the property and not against defects existing before that time, generally using the language, “by, through, or under the grantor but not otherwise.”

Question 19

Testate

Answer 19

Having made and left a valid will

Question 20

Testator

Answer 20

A person who has made a valid will. A woman often is referred to as a testatrix, although testator can be used for either gender

Question 21

Title

Answer 21

(1) The right to ownership or the ownership of land.

(2) The evidence of ownership of land

Question 22

Transfer Tax

Answer 22

tax stamps required to be affixed to a deed by state and/or local law

Question 23

Trustee’s Deed

Answer 23

A deed executed by a trustee conveying land held in a trust

Question 24

Voluntary Alienation

Answer 24

The act of transferring property to another. Alienation may be voluntary, such as by gift or sale, or involuntary, as through eminent domain or adverse possession

Question 25

Will

Answer 25

A written document, properly witnessed, providing for the transfer of title to property owned by the deceased, called the testator