Unit 6: Transfer of Title

Question 1

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

Answer 1

Acknowledgement

Question 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 means of acquiring title.

Answer 2

Adverse Possession

Question 3

A court-selected person who assists with the settlement of an estate of a person who died without leaving a will. A woman might be called an administratrix, although administrator is the term used most often to refer to either a man or a woman.

Answer 3

Administrator

Question 4

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.

Answer 4

Alienation

Question 5

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.

Answer 5

Bargain and Sale Deed

Question 6

A supplement or an addition to a will, executed with the same formalities as a will, which normally does not revoke the entire will.

Answer 6

Codicil

Question 7

Any document, claim, unreleased lien, or encumbrance that may impair the title to real property or make the title doubtful; usually revealed by a title search and removed by either a quitclaim deed or suit to quiet title.

Answer 7

Cloud on the Title

Question 8

A written agreement between two or more parties in which a party or parties pledge to perform or not perform specified acts with regard to property; usually found in such real estate documents as deeds, mortgages, leases, and contracts for deed.

Answer 8

Covenant

Question 9

The convenant implied by law by which a landlord guarantees that a tenant may take possession of leased premises and that the landlord will not interfere in the tenant’s possession or use of the property.

Answer 9

Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment

Question 10

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

Answer 10

Deed

Question 11

An instrument that grants a trustee under a land trust full power to sell, mortgage, and subdivide a parcel of real estate. The beneficiary controls the trustee’s use of these powers under the provisions of the trust agreement.

Answer 11

Deed in Trust

Question 12

Acquisition of an estate by inheritance in which an heir succeeds to the property by operation of law.

Answer 12

Descent

Question 13

A transfer of real property by will. The decedent is the devisor, and the recipient is the devisee.

Answer 13

Devise

Question 14

The legal right or interest, recognized in some states, that a wife acquires in the property her husband held or acquired during their marriage. During the husband’s lifetime, the right is only a possibility of an interest; upon his death, it can become an interest in land.

Answer 14

Dower

Question 15

Proof of ownership of property; commonly a certificate of title, an abstract of title with lawyer’s opinion, title insurance, or a Torrens registration certificate.

Answer 15

Evidence of Title

Question 16

The exclusion of a part of the property conveyed.

Answer 16

Exception

Question 17

An appointed person who carries out the directions of a will. A woman might be referred to as executrix, although executor is the term most commonly used to refer to either a man or a woman.

Answer 17

Executor

Question 18

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, bargain, and sell”; or the like.

Answer 18

Granting Clause

Question 19

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

Answer 19

Grantor

Question 20

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

Answer 20

Grantee

Question 21

That 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.

Answer 21

Habendum Clause

Question 22

A will that is written, dated, and signed in the testator’s handwriting.

Answer 22

Holographic Will

Question 23

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.

Answer 23

General Warranty Deed

Question 24

The condition of a property owner who dies without leaving a valid will. Title to the property will pass to the decedents heirs, as provided in the state law of descent.

Answer 24

Intestate

Question 25

A disposition of money or personal property by will.

Answer 25

Legacy

Question 26

A person who has not reached the age of majority and, therefore, does not have legal capacity to transfer title to real property.

Answer 26

Minor

Question 27

Certification by a notary or other authorized official of the validity of a signature on a document.

Answer 27

Notarization

Question 28

An oral will declared by the testator in his final illness, made before witnesses and afterward reduced to writing; not permitted by all states.

Answer 28

Nuncupative Will

Question 29

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

Answer 29

Probate

Question 30

A written instrument authorizing a person, the attorney-in-fact, to act as agent for another person to the extent indicated in the instrument.

Answer 30

Power of Attorney

Question 31

A conveyance that transfers whatever interest the grantor has in the specified real estate, without warranties or obligations.

Answer 31

Quitclaim Deed

Question 32

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

Answer 32

Reconveyance Deed

Question 33

Something that is retained by the seller (i.e., a life estate or an access easement).

Answer 33

Reservation

Question 34

The amount of money paid to a seller for the product sold.

Answer 34

Satisfaction

Question 35

Sale of property in which the sales price is less than the remaining indebtedness.

Answer 35

Short Sale

Question 36

A deed in which the grantor warrants, or guarantees, the title only against defects arising during the period of the grantor's 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."

Answer 36

Special Warranty Deed

Question 37

That part of a state law that requires certain instruments, such as deeds, real estate sales contracts, and certain leases, to be in writing to be legally enforceable.

Answer 37

Statute of Frauds

Question 38

A clause in a contract specifying exceptions or contingencies of a purchase.

Answer 38

"Subject To"

Question 39

Having made and left a valid will.

Answer 39

Testate

Question 40

A person who has made a valid will. A woman might be referred to as a testatrix, although testator can be used for either a man or a woman.

Answer 40

Testator

Question 41

(1) The right to ownership or the ownership of land. (2) The evidence of ownership of land.

Answer 41

Title

Question 42

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

Answer 42

Transfer Tax

Question 43

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 deed of trust.

Answer 43

Trust Deed

Question 44

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

Answer 44

Trustee's Deed

Question 45

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

Answer 45

Will