- Abstract of Land Title
- A shortened history of the title to a tract of land.
- Accession
- An increase; addition to land.
- Acceptance
- In contract, when the offeree (one to whom an offer is made) signifies assent and acceptance to the offer.
- Accommodation Road
- A road opened for the benefit of certain individuals for land use.
- Accretion
- The gradual and imperceptible adding to or accumulation of land by natural causes, as out of a river.
- Acknowledge
- To admit or recognize one's own acts.
- Act of God
- Any act caused exclusively by natural forces without interference of any human agency.
- Actionable
- That act(s) for which will provide the bringing of a legal action or equity suit.
- Adjective Law
- That body of law dealing with rules of procedure; the legal machinery of the courts.
- Adjudge
- To decide judicially; to settle.
- Adversary
- The party opposite in a court action; the litigant-opponent.
- Adverse Possession
- A statutory method of acquiring title to land under certain conditions.
- Affiant
- The person who makes an affidavit.
- Afforestation
- The conversion of a part of the country from other uses into forest land, thereby subjecting it to forest law.
- Agreement to Sell Land
- A contract for the future conveyance of land.
- Antitrust
- Those laws designed to protect commerce and business from unlawful restraints, monopolies, or unfair business practices.
- Appeal
- The removal of a case from an inferior court to one of higher jurisdiction for the purpose of correcting or reversing a decision.
- Arbitration
- A nonjudicial proceeding used as an alternative to court action where a neutral third party (arbitrator) is utilized to resolve a dispute by the issuance of a binding decision as to law and fact.
- At Law
- According to the law.
- Backlands
- Lands lying back from (not contiguous to) a highway or a watercourse.
- Bad Title
- A title that conveys no land to the purchaser.
- Breach of Contract
- The failure by a party under a contractual obligation to perform a contractual duty at the time, place, and under circumstances specified in the agreement.
- Clear Title to Land
- Good and marketable title to land.
- Cloud on Land Title
- An outstanding incumbrance that could impair the title of the owner.
- Color of Title
- The appearance or semblance of title to land appearing on the face of the deed.
- Contract
- A legally binding promise (between two or more persons) that creates, modifies, or extinguishes a legal relation or duty
- Conveyance
- In real property law, the transfer of a legal title to land.
- Court
- A legally created tribunal empowered to adjudicate cases at law and/or equity.
- Cutting Contract
- A written, legal document utilized to effectuate the sale of standing timber under certain agreed stipulations (between buyer and seller).
- Deed
- A written conveyance of land signed by the grantor transferring title to the grantee.
- Assumption Warranty Deed
- A warranty deed that references an existing mortgage(s) that grantee agrees to become liable thereon. By taking the deed, the grantee agrees to assume the mortgage(s) and become liable on it.
- Quitclaim Deed
- A deed to real property conveying whatever title the grantor has to the grantee, but without making any warranties regarding the validity of the title.
- Special Warranty Deed
- A deed in which the grantor warrants or covenants only against the claims of persons claiming by, through, or under the grantor.
- Warranty Deed
- A warranty deed (often called a general warranty deed) contains certain guarantees or covenants of title by the grantor that the deed conveys a good and unencumbered title and further that the grantor and his heirs will defend the title against all others.
- Devise
- A gift of land or realty by last will and testament of the decedent.
- Disaforest
- To restore the land to nonforest uses.
- Doubtful Title
- Land whose title is believed to be invalid in some respect.
- Easement
- A nonpossessory interest in land of another that is owned by one for limited purposes or uses.
- Egress
- An exit route; the right to leave or go out.
- Ejectment
- A legal action to physically expel one from land.
- Eminent Domain
- The right or power of a government to take private land for public use.
- Encroachment
- An unlawful entry upon the land of another.
- Equity Courts
- Courts that administer justice according to rules of equity or rules of conscience.
- Escrow
- A condition existing where a deed is held conditionally by a third party.
- Estate
- An interest one possesses in land or real property.
- Execution (of the contract)
- The performance of the contractual obligations by the parties to the contract.
- Fee (Fee Simple)
- The largest estate in land known to law.
- Fiat
- A court order.
- Fixture
- A piece of personal property permanently attached to realty.
- Foreclosure
- The extinguishment of the rights of the one (mortgagor) holding the mortgage in the property that is the subject of the mortgage.
- Forest Acreage Tax
- A special tax levied by the county board of supervisors on all timbered and uncultivatable lands in the county.
- Fraudulent Conveyance
- A conveyance of real property with the intent to defraud a creditor by placing the property beyond his reach.
- Free and Clear Title
- A condition existing when the title to real property is not encumbered by any liens.
- Freehold
- A right of title to land.
- Gift Inter Vivos
- A gift made between two living persons.
- Gift Testamentary
- A gift made when the donor is deceased and the donee is alive.
- Good Title
- A land title that is marketable or merchantable.
- Grant, Bargain, and Sell
- Words of conveyance of land in a deed.
- Grantee
- The person to whom the land is conveyed.
- Grantor
- The person who makes the conveyance of land.
- Heir
- One who inherits either real or personal property.
- Incumbrance
- A lien or claim against real property.
- Indemnity
- To guarantee or insure against loss, damage, or liability.
- Ingress
- The act of entering; the right to enter or to go in.
- Injunction
- An order, usually a certain act or to refrain from doing a certain act.
- Intestate
- A person dies without making a will.
- Invitee
- One invited on the property of another for the benefit of the invitor.
- Jurisdiction
- The power or authority of the court to hear and finally dispose of the case.
- Lawful Entry
- Lawful entry under some claim by one who is not in possession of the land.
- Lease
- A contract for the use or possession of land for a determined period of time with stipulated conditions.
- Leasehold
- A lease of land.
- Legal Title
- Land title that is recognized as complete, enforceable, and perfect.
- License to Enter
- Permission to enter the land of another; revocable at will.
- Licensee
- One who lawfully enters the land of another for the furtherance of his own purposes.
- Lien
- A claim or incumbrance on the land of another for the furtherance of his own purposes.
- Life Tenant
- One who holds an interest in land; interest limited to the length of his life or the life of another.
- Line
- The boundary between two parcels of property owned by two different property owners.
- Lis Pendens
- A suit that is pending, giving the court of competent jurisdiction control over the property until the case is finally disposed of.
- Litigant
- A party in a law suit.
- Litigation
- A law suit; the act of carrying on a legal contest by the judicial process.
- Lost Corner
- A corner that cannot be located although it was earlier established either by government or other survey.
- Merchantable
- Having salable value on the commercial market.
- Mineral Deed
- A deed conveying mineral interests of land to the grantee.
- Negligence
- Carelessness; a lack of reasonable care.
- Obligation of a Contract
- The provisions under a valid contract are binding on the contracting parties, and the parties are legally bound and obligated to perform the contract provisions.
- Occupant
- One who takes possession of land and controls the activities going on there.
- Of Record
- Recorded; a deed, contract, or other legal document recorded in the appropriate clerk's office.
- Offer
- In contract, to make a proposal; to hold out an offer as in the attempt to make a contract.
- Offeree
- In contract, to whom an offer is made.
- Offeror
- In contract, one who makes an offer.
- Oral Contract
- A contract based on a totally oral agreement between the parties or a contract that is partly written and partly oral.
- Ordinance
- A rule of law; an act passed by a municipality.
- Owner
- The person whom the law recognizes as vested with title and ownership of land.
- Paramount Title
- Superior title to real property; superior title to the title with which it is compared.
- Parole Evidence Rule
- A rule of evidence that prohibits the introduction in court of evidence of oral or written statements made before or simultaneously with the execution of a complete written contract, deed, or instrument.
- Partition
- Land is divided between joint tenants, tenants in common, or other ownerships so the holders can own a particular portion of the land in their individual names.
- Personalty
- Chattels; personal property, any property not land, real property, or fixtures.
- Possession
- "Seisin," the custody and control over land to the exclusion of all others.
- Power of Attorney
- A written document authorizing someone else to act in his/her place.
- General Power of Attorney
- A written document authorizing another to perform any legal act that the person granting the power of attorney could perform.
- Special Power of Attorney
- A written document authorizing another to perform specific legal acts or acts setting forth specified limits on the authority.
- Procedural Law
- The step-by-step process of a law suit; the legal machinery for a law suit from beginning to end.
- Promise
- A declaration that ethically binds, but not legally binds, one to do or not to do that which is promised; in contract, a promise supported by consideration is legally binding on the party making it.
- Promisee
- Person to whom a promise is made.
- Promisor
- The person who makes a promise.
- Proof
- The establishment or nonestablishment of a fact by evidence in a court of law or equity.
- Realty
- Real property; land; anything pertaining to the nature of real property.
- Reasonable Prudent Man
- The standard of conduct utilized for determining whether a defendant has been guilty of negligence.
- Rescission
- In contract law, the setting aside of a contract as though the contract had never been made; the contracting parties are placed back in their original positions as before the contract was entered into.
- Register of Deeds
- One who records deeds; recorder of deeds.
- Rent
- The consideration (usually money) paid for utilization of real property.
- Respondiat Superior
- The legal doctrine that the employer is liable for the unauthorized torts committed by an employee while acting within the course of the employment.
- Reversionary Interest in Land
- An interest a person has in the reversion of lands; title was once in the grantor and at some future date title will revert to the grantor a second time.
- Right-of-Way
- The right to cross or pass over the land of another.
- Running with the Land
- A covenant (such as an easement) that will follow the land title from owner to owner.
- Severance Tax
- A tax paid on forest products, usually by the first processor, after the products are harvested, cut, or severed from the land.
- Specific Performance
- An equitable action compelling a party to specifically perform a contract or contract provision.
- Statute
- A legislative enactment.
- Statute of Frauds
- An act requiring some contracts to be signed and in writing to be enforceable; a contract for the sale of land.
- Substantive Law
- That area of law that defines rights and duties of members of society.
- Tenancy
- The legal estate of the tenant defining its nature and duration.
- Joint Tenancy
- Joint tenants have identical interests in the land beginning at the same time and held by identical, undivided possession.
- Tenancy by the Entirety
- A conveyance is made to husband and wife and each takes the entire estate, and after the death of one, the surviving spouse takes the whole estate.
- Tenancy in Common
- Where different persons hold an estate in land under different titles with unity of possession; each tenant has the right to occupy the whole estate in common with his co-tenants.
- Tenancy at Will
- One who holds possession of land without a fixed term with permission of the owner; the owner may revoke or terminate the tenancy at any time (at will) without reason.
- Testate
- One who dies with a will made.
- Title
- The owner of lands has legal and just possession of his land.
- Timber Deed
- A deed conveying certain described timber located on a particular tract of land.
- Timber Sale Contract
- A written, legal document setting forth the agreement of the parties regarding the size, species, and other description of the timber to be sold, specifically describing the tract of land on which the timber is located and other particulars of the sale.
- Timber Trespass
- The unlawful cutting, deadening, destroying, or taking away of any tree or trees without the consent of the owner.
- Trespass
- An unlawful intrusion onto the property of another.
- Trespasser
- One who unlawfully enters the land of another.
- Uniform Commercial Code
- A detailed code of business laws encompassing several areas of commercial law with emphasis on the law of sales, promissory notes, and other commercial paper and secured transactions. The Uniform Commercial Code, with variations, has been adopted in whole or in part by all the states.
- Waiver
- The intentional giving up of a known right.
- Way
- A path, road, or passageway over land.
- Will
- A written, legal document specifying the disposition of property and other matters taking effect on the death of the maker.
- Wild Land
- Land in the natural state.
- Wrongful Act
- An unlawful act; an act in violation of the law.
