Legal Terms Chapter 35 - Deeds

Question 1

Acknowledgment

Answer 1

A formal declaration before an authorized official, by a person who executes an instrument, that an act or deed is his or her free act or deed.

Question 3

Base lines

Answer 3

Horizontal lines running east and west in the United States government survey.

Question 4

Bounds

Answer 4

Directions of the boundaries that enclose a parcel of land.

Question 5

Covenants

Answer 5

A promise or an assurance.

Question 6

Conveyancing

Answer 6

Transferring title to real property from one person to another.

Question 7

Deed

Answer 7

Any contract that was under seal and contained covenants.
Under common law, a writing under seal by which common lands, tenements, or herditaments are conveyed for an estate not less than freehold. In modern times, a formal, written instrument by which title to real property is transferred from one person to another and, in many states, no longer requires a seal.

Question 8

General warranty deed

Answer 8

A deed containing warranties in which the grantor guarantees the property to be free from all encumbrances and to defend the title against the claims of all persons; also called full covenant and warranty deed.

Question 9

Grantee

Answer 9

The person to whom title is transferred.

Question 10

Grantor

Answer 10

The person who transfers title.

Question 11

Habendum clause

Answer 11

The portion of a deed beginning with the words “To have and to hold,” which defines the extent of the ownership of the property granted.

Question 12

Hereditaments

Answer 12

Things capable of being inherited, including not only lands and everything thereon, but also heirlooms.

Question 13

Heirlooms

Answer 13

Valued possessions with sentimental value passed down through generations within a family.

Question 14

Livery in deed

Answer 14

When the livery of seisin took place on the property itself.

Question 15

Livery in law

Answer 15

When the livery of seisin took place in sight of the property, but not actually on it.

Question 16

Livery of seisin

Answer 16

Before the deed came into being, property was transferred in a public ceremony from one person to another; the person transferring the property would give the receiver a clod of dirt or a twig from a tree.

Question 17

Lot and block survey system

Answer 17

Reference to a recorded survey that is made when a tract of land is subdivided; the size and shape of each lot is designated, and the plat is given a name or number so that it can be identified.

Question 18

Meridians

Answer 18

Lines running north and south in the United States government survey; also called principal meridians or prime meridians.

Question 19

Metes

Answer 19

Distances between points.

Question 20

Metes and bounds

Answer 20

A system of describing real property by its outer boundaries with references to courses, distances, and monuments.

Question 21

Monuments

Answer 21

Visible marks indicating boundaries.

Question 22

Notary public

Answer 22

A person authorized by his or her state to serve as an official, impartial witness to those acts requiring a witness’s signature; separate and distinct from a seal signifying locus sigilli.

Question 23

Plat

Answer 23

A map designating the size and shape of a specific land area; also called plat map and plot.

Question 24

Plat book

Answer 24

A book that is recorded at the registry of deeds, containing plat maps.

Question 25

Quitclaim deed

Answer 25

A deed to real property in which the grantor transfers only his or her interest, if any, in the property and gives no warranties of title; also called deed without covenants and fiduciary deed.

Question 26

Range

Answer 26

A row of townships running north and south in the Unites States government survey.

Question 27

Rectangular survey system

Answer 27

A method of describing real property according to the property's relationship to intersecting lines running east and west (base lines) and lines running north and south (principal, or prime, meridians); also called government survey system.

Question 28

Section

Answer 28

A square mile of land, containing 640 acres, in the United States government survey.

Question 29

Special warranty deed

Answer 29

A deed containing warranties under which the grantor guarantees that the property is free from all encumbrances made during the time that he or she owned the property and agrees to defend the title only against claims through him or her; also called limited warranty deed.

Question 30

Tenements

Answer 30

Everything of a permanent nature which may be holden, and in a more restrictive sense, houses or dwellings.

Question 31

Township

Answer 31

A six-square-mile portion of land in the United States government survey.

Question 32

Tract of land

Answer 32

A large piece of land.

Question 33

Warrant

Answer 33

To give assurance.