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Deed
A deed is a legal instrument used to grant a right. The deed is
best known as the method of transferring title to real estate from
one person to another. However, by the general definition, powers
of attorney, commissions, patents, and even diplomas conferring
academic degrees are also deeds.
Historically under common law, for an instrument to be a valid deed
it needed five things:
* It must indicate that the instrument itself conveys some privilege
or thing to someone. This is indicated by using the word hereby
or the phrase by these presents in the sentence indicating the gift.
* The grantor must have the legal ability to grant the thing or
privilege. * The person receiving the privilege or thing must have
the legal capacity to receive it. * A seal must be affixed to it.
Most jurisdictions have eliminated this requirement and replaced
it with the signature of the grantor. However, for conveyances of
real estate, most jurisdictions require that the deed be acknowleged
before a notary public or a civil law notary and some may require
a witness or witnesses in addition. * It must be delivered to and
accepted by the recipient.
Conditions attached to the acceptance of a deed are known as covenants.
In the United States of America, a pardon of the President was at
one time considered to be a deed and thus needed to be accepted
by the recipient. This made it impossible to grant a pardon posthumously.
However, in the case of Henry Ossian Flipper, this view was altered
when President Bill Clinton pardoned him in 1999.
In some jurisdictions, a deed of trust is used as an equivalent
to a mortgage.
In some jurisdictions (especially New Zealand) a deed of endowment
is used as an equivalent to a Royal Charter, often used to establish
educational or medical institutions.
In the transfer of real estate, a deed conveys ownership from the
old owner (the grantor) to the new owner (the grantee), and can
include various warranties. The precise name of these warranties
differ by jurisdiction. However the basic difference between them
is the degree to which the grantor warrants the title. The grantor
may give a general warranty of title against any claims, or the
warranty may be limited only to claims which occurred after the
grantor obtained the real estate. The latter type of deed is usually
known as a special warranty deed. While a general warranty deed
is normally used for residential real estate sales and transfers,
special warranty deeds more commonly used in commercial transactions.
A third type of deed, known as a bargain and sale deed, implies
that the grantor has the right to convey title but makes no warranties
against encumbrances. This type of deed is most commonly used by
court officials or fiduciaries that hold the property by force of
law rather than title, such as properties seized for unpaid taxes
and sold at sheriff's sale. A so-called quitclaim deed is (in most
states) actually not a deed at all--it is actually an estoppel disclaiming
rights of the person signing it to property.
Usually the transfer of ownership of real estate is registered at
a cadastre in the United Kingdom. In most parts of the United States,
deeds must be submitted to the Recorder of deeds, who acts as a
Cadastre, to be registered.
A trust deed (also called a deed of trust) isn’t like the other
types of deeds; it’s not used to transfer property. It’s really
just a version of a mortgage, commonly used in some states (California,
for example). A trust deed transfers title to land to a “trustee,”
usually a trust or title company, which holds the land as security
for a loan. When the loan is paid off, title is transferred to the
borrower. The trustee has no powers unless the borrower defaults
on the loan; then the trustee can sell the property and pay the
lender back from the proceeds, without first going to court.
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