Chapter 34

Understanding Legal Concepts

Indicate whether each statement is true or false. Then, change the italicized word or phrase of each false statement to make it true.

Answers

1. Originally, land in America was owned by the various foreign governments that had settled here.

2. Traditionally, a deed was required to be under seal to be effective; however, many states have done away with that requirement.

3. Some states have no requirement that a deed be witnessed.

4. When people die owning real estate separately, a deed is necessary to pass legal ownership to their heirs.

5. For title to pass to a surviving joint tenant, it is necessary to probate the estate of a deceased joint tenant.

6. An attachment has the effect of bringing property under the jurisdiction of the court as security for a debt.

7. A mortgagee's foreclosure sale is a private sale that occurs under the jurisdiction of the court.

8. A purchaser of real property at a tax sale takes the property subject to the former owner's right to take the property back.

9. In calculating the period required to obtain title by adverse possession, any uninterrupted use by previous non-owner occupiers may not be added to the time period.

10. Any addition to the soil made by nature, such as the very rapid accumulation of soil on land next to a stream, is called accretion.

Checking Terminology

From the list of legal terms that follows, select the one that matches each definition.

answers

A. accretion

B. adverse possession

C. alluvion

D. attachment

E. convey

F. conveyance

G. deed

H. disseised

I. divested

J. erosion

K. foreclose

L. Homestead Act

M. infancy

N. mortgagee

O. mortgagee's foreclosure sale

P. mortgagor

Q. record owner

R. reliction

S. right of redemption

T. seal

U. seisin

V. sheriff's sale

W. tacking

X. vendee

Y. vendor

1. A formal, written instrument used to transfer title to real property from one person to another. (Select two answers.)

2. A mark or impression, originally made with wax, placed next to a party's signature.

3. The act of taking or seizing property by the use of a writ, summons, or other judicial order and bringing it into the custody of the court.

4. One who borrows money and gives a mortgagethat is, pledges propertyto the lender as security for the loan.

5. A sale of property at public auction conducted by a sheriff.

6. Right to take property back.

7. Title to real property obtained by taking actual possession of it openly, notoriously, exclusively, under a claim of right, and continuously for a period set by statute.

8. Dispossessed.

9. Any gradual addition to the soil made by nature, such as the gradual accumulation of soil on land next to a stream caused by the action of water. (Select two answers.)

10. To transfer.

11. Taken away.

12. One who lends money and takes back a mortgage as security for the loan.

13. One who appears to be the owner of real property according to the records at the registry of deeds.

14. A sale of real property that terminates all rights of the mortgagor in the property covered by the mortgage.

15. A federal land grant that encouraged people to improve the land over five years in order to gain a deed to the property.

16. Possession of a freehold.

17. The addition of previous occupants' possession to one's own possession to meet the statutory period for adverse possession.

18. The gradual eating away of the soil by the operation of currents or tides.

19. The gradual recession of water, leaving land permanently uncovered.

20. Under the age of majority.

21. A purchaser or buyer of property or goods.

22. Terminate.

Using Legal Language

Read the following story and fill in the blank lines with legal terms taken from the list of terms at the beginning of this chapter:

Arlene inherited some real property that adjoined a river. Title to the property vested in Arlene at the moment of death of the decedent, but was subject to being to pay claims against the estate. Arlene was the , because she was the person who appeared to be the owner according to the records at the Registry of Deeds. She received a notice in the mail from her bank saying that a(n) was about to occur, because she was behind in her mortgage payments. She was the ; the bank was the . Arlene took the money that she had saved to pay property taxes and other creditors and used it to pay the money owed on the mortgage. One of her creditors brought suit against her and placed a(n) on her property, which had the effect of bringing it under the jurisdiction of the court as security for the debt. To prevent a(n) that is, a sale on execution of the propertyArlene paid the amount that was owed to the creditor. She then had the property lines surveyed and discovered that the garage belonging to her next-door neighbor, Ben, extended four feet onto her land. Although Ben had owned the property for 10 years, the garage had been placed there by Carl, the previous owner, 22 years earlier. Ben can add his 10 years of ownership to that of Carl's under a method called . Ben obtained title to the land under the garage by , a method which had developed at common law under the theory that two persons could not have of the same land at the same time. If one person took possession of land under a claim of right, the real owner was said to be that is, dispossessedof the property. Because Arlene had failed to pay the property tax, the local tax collector took the property and sold it at a public auction to Darlene. The that is, the transfer to Darlenewas made by the use of a(n) , which is a formal written instrument used to transfer title from one person to another. The instrument was under , which is a mark or impression next to the party's signature. Darlene bought the property subject to Arlene's that is, the right to take the property backunless Darlene is successful in petitioning the court to (terminate) that right. By then, a considerable amount of land had been added to the property by , which is also called , caused by the slow action of the adjoining river.