PROPERTY - Definition of Terms

Abandonment
Abatement

Abut
Accession
Accessory
Accrue
Addition
Ademption

Adhension
Adjunct
Alienate
Alluvion

Apprehension
Appurtenance
Assessment
Attachment
Attorn
Avulsion
Bad faith
Bequest
Cession
Charter
Chattel
Cloud on title
Codicil

Collation

Corporeal
De facto
Demise
Derelict
Detainer
Devise

The relinquishing of a right or interest with the intention of never again claiming it; Acceptance
by one party of the situation that a non-performing party has caused.
Eliminating/Nullifying; Suspension or defeat of a pending action for a reason unrelated to the
merits of the claim; Reduction of a legacy thru estates insufficiency to pay all debts and
legacies.
To join at a border or boundary; To share a common boundary with
Acceding or agreeing; A property owners right to all that is added to the land, naturally or by
labor, including land left by floods and improvements made by others.
Something of secondary or subordinate importance
To come into existence as an enforceable claim or right; To arise; To accumulate periodically
A structure attached to or connected with another building that predates the structure (extension
or annex); A title or appellation appended to a persons name.
The destruction or extinction of a legacy or bequest by reason of a bequeathed assets ceasing to
be part of the estate at the time of testators death; A beneficiarys forfeiture of a legacy or
bequest no longer operative.
(see accession)
Added as an accompanying object or circumstance; Attached in a subordinate or temporary
capacity
To transfer convey property to another
A deposit of soil , clay or other materials caused by running water; An addition of land caused by
the buildup of deposits from running water, the added land then belonging to the owner of the
property to which it is added.
Seizure in the name of the law; Perception; Comprehension.
Something that belongs or is attached to something else.
Determination of the rate or amount of something; Imposition of something according to an
established rate
The seizing of a persons property to secure a judgment or to be sold in satisfaction of a
judgment
To agree to be the tenant of a new landlord; To transfer to another.
A forcible detachment or separation; A sudden removal of land cause by a change in a rivers
course or by flood (land remains as owners property)
Dishonesty of belief or purpose; Insurance companys unreasonable and unfounded refusal to
provide coverage in violation of the duties of good faith and fair dealing owed to an insured.
The act giving property by will.
The act of relinquishing property rights; Relinquishment or transfer of land from one state to
another esp. when a state defeated in war gives up the land as part of the price of peace.
To establish or grant by charter; To hire or rent for temporary use.
Movable or transferrable property esp. personal property.
A defect or potential defect in the owners title to a piece of land arising from some claim or
encumbrance, such as lien, easement, or count order.
A supplement or addition to a will not necessarily disposing of the entire estate but modifying,
explaining or otherwise qualifying the will in some way; When admitted to probate it becomes
part of the will.
The comparison of a copy with its original to ascertain its correctness; An estimate of the value
of advancements made by an intestate to his/her children so that the estate may be divided in
accordance with intestacy statute.
Having a physical, material existence, tangible (i.e. land and fixtures)
Actual, existing in fact, having effect even though not formally or legally recognized;
Illegitimate but in effect.
The conveyance of an estate by will or lease; The instrument by which such a conveyance is
accomplished; The passing of property by descent or bequest; Death.
Forsaken, Abandoned, Cast away; Personal property abandoned or thrown away by the owner
with an intent to no longer claim it; Land uncovered by receding water from its former bed.
The action of detaining withholding, or keeping something in ones custody.
The act of giving property by will; The provision in a will containing such a gift; Property
disposed of in a will; A will disposing of real property.

PROPERTY - Definition of Terms

Discharge

Disencumber
Disrepair
Disseisin
Domicile

Donation
Dower

Easement

Edifice
Egress
Embargo
Embellish
Encroach
Encumbrance

Endowment
Erosion
Escheat
Escrow

Evulsion
Executor
Feoffment
Fixture
Freehold
Gift

Payment of a debt or satisfaction of some other obligation; The release of debtor from monetary
obligations upon adjudication or bankruptcy (release); Dismissal of a case; The cancelling or
vacating of a court order.
Free from or relieve of an encumbrance
A state of being in need of restoration after deterioration or injury.
The act of wrongfully depriving someone of the freehold possession of property.
The place at which a person is physically present and that a person regards as home; A persons
true, fixed, principal and permanent home to which that person intends to return and remain even
though currently residing elsewhere.
A gift; A method of acquiring a benefice by deed of gift alone without presentation, institution or
reduction.
(COMMON LAW) The right of a wife upon her husbands death to a life estate in 1/3 of the land
he owned in fee exc. She cannot acquire dower by any transfer made by her husband during his
lifetime; Expanded to account lands her husband owned in fee.
An interest in land owned by another person, consisting in the right to use or control the land, or
an area above or below it for a specific limited purpose; The land benefiting: dominant estate, the
land burdened: servient estate; May last forever;
Primary recognized easements:
(1) right of way
(2) right of entry for any purpose relating to the dominant estate
(3) right to support of land and buildings
(4) right of light and air
(5) right to water
(6) right to do acts which otherwise amounts to a nuisance
(7) right to place or keep something on the servient estate
A large, imposing building.
The act of going out or leaving; The right or ability to leave; A way or exit.
A government or wartime or peacetime detention of offending nations private ships found in the
ports of the aggrieved nation; The conscription of private property for governmental use.
Make (something) more attractive by the addition of decorative details or features.
To enter by gradual steps or stealth into the possession or rights of another; To trespass or
intrude; To give or intrude unlawfully into anothers lands property, or authority
A claim or liability attached to property or some other right and that may lessen its valve (i.e.
lien, mortgage); Any property right not an ownership interest; Cannot defeat the transfer of
possession.
A gift of money or property to an institution for a specific purpose esp. in one in which the
principal is kept intact indefinitely and only the interest income from that principal is used.
The wearing away of something by action of the elements esp. the gradual eating away of soil by
operation of currents or tides.
Reversion of property (esp. real property) to the state upon the death of an owner who has neither
a will nor any legal heirs; Property that has so reverted.
A legal document or property delivered by a promisor to a 3rd party for a given amount of time
or until the occurrence of a condition, at which time, the 3rd party is to hand over the document
or property to the promisee; An account held in trust or security.
The action of plucking something out by force; violent or forcible extraction.
One who performs or carries out some act; A person named by a testator to carry out the
provisions of the testators will.
The act conveying a freehold estate; A grant of land in fee simple; The land so granted; The
charter that transfers the land.
Personal property attached to land or a building and is regarded as an immovable part of the real
property.
An estate in land held in fee simple, in fee tail or for term or life; The tenure by which such an
estate is held.
The act voluntarily transferring property to another without compensation.

PROPERTY - Definition of Terms

Grant
Habitant
Heir

Hereditament
Holographic
Homestead
Hypothecation
Impediment
Implement
Impound
Incorporeal
Increment
Inheritance
Jettison
Jury
Kindred
Kinship
Laches
Largess
Leasehold

Levy
Lien

Littoral
Malice
Mercantile
Moiety
Mortgage

Next of kin
Non compos
mentis
Nuisance

Nuncupative

To give or confer something with or without compensation; To formally transfer real property by
deed or other writing; To permit or agree to.
(HIST) a person holding land in feudal tenure from a seignior.
A person who, under the laws of intestacy, is entitled to receive an intestate decedents property,
esp. real property; A person who inherits real or personal property whether by will or intestate
succession.
Any property that can be inherited; Anything that passes by intestacy; Real property, land.
A document entirely written by its author.
The house, outbuildings and adjoining land owned and occupied by a person or family as a
residence.
The pledging of something as security without delivery of title or possession.
A hindrance or obstruction esp. some fact that bars a marriage, if known, but does not void the
marriage if discovered after the ceremony.
A tool, utensil, or other piece of equipment that is used for a particular purpose; Put (a decision,
plan, agreement, etc.) into effect.
To place (personal property) in the custody of the police or the court, often with the
understanding that it will be returned intact at the end of the proceeding.
Having a conceptual existence but no physical existence; Intangible.
A unit of increase in quantity or value.
Property received from an ancestor under the laws of intestacy; Property that a person receives
by bequest or devise.
The act of voluntarily throwing cargo overboard to lighten or stabilize a ship that is in immediate
danger.
A group of persons selected according to law and given the power to decide questions of fact and
return a verdict in the case submitted to them.
Ones relatives; Family relationship.
Relationship by blood, marriage, or adoption.
Unreasonable delay in pursuing a right or claim - almost always an equitable one - in a way that
prejudices the party against whom relief is sought; Sleeping on rights.
Generosity in bestowing money or gifts upon others; Something given to someone without
expectation of a return.
A tenants possessory estate in land or premises, the 4 types being; (1) tenancy for years, (2) the
periodic tenancy; (3) the tenancy at will, and (4) the tenancy at suffrage; Classified as chattel
real; (HIST) has some of the characteristics of real property.
Practice; A seizure for the raising of money for which an execution has been issued.
A legal right or interest that a creditor has in anothers property, lasting usually until a debt or
duty that is secure is satisfied; Typically, creditor does not take possession of the property on
which the lien has been obtained.
Of relating to the coast or shore of an ocean, sea, or lake.
The intent, without justification or excuse, to commit a wrongful act; Reckless disregard of the
laws or of a persons legal right; Ill-will, wickedness of heart; Wrongful intention.
Of or relating to merchants or trading; Commercial.
Also mediety; A half of something; A portion less than half; A small segment.
A conveyance of title to property given as security for the payment of a debt or the performance
of a duty that will become void upon payment or performance according to the stipulated terms;
A lien against property that is granted to secure an obligation and is extinguished upon payment
or performance; Transfer of title and not of possession
The person/s most closely related to a decedent by blood or affinity; An intestates heirs: the
person/s entitled to inherit personal property from a decedent who has not left a will.
Not master of ones mind; Insane; Incompetent.
Also annoyance; A condition, activity, or situation that interferes with the use or enjoyment of
property esp. on non-transitory condition or persistent activity that either injures the physical
condition of adjacent land or interferes with its use or with the enjoyment of easements on the
land or of public highways; A state of affairs; A tort.
Stated by spoken word; Declared orally.

PROPERTY - Definition of Terms

Occupancy

Occupant
Occupation
Occupy
Ownership

Parol
Partition

Plaintiff
Pledge

Possession

Preemption
Prescription

Probate

Property
Punitive
Quagmire
Quota
Reality
Redemption
Remission
Renunciation
Replevin

Repudiation

The act or state of condition of holding, possessing or residing in or on something; Actual

possession, residence or tenancy esp. of a dwelling on land; Whatever acts are done on the land
to manifest a claim of exclusive control and to indicate to the public that the actor has
appropriated the land.
One who has possessory rights in, or control over, certain properties or premises; One who
acquires title by occupancy.
An activity or pursuit in which a person is engaged; The possession, control, or use of real
property; The seizure and control of a territory by military force.
To hold in possession; To hold or keep for use; Possession and cultivation.
The bundle of rights allowing one to use, manage, and enjoy property, including the right to
convey it to others; Implies the right to possess a thing; Ownership rights are general, permanent
and heritable.
Oral; Unwritten; Not under seal.
Something that separates one part of a space from another; The act of dividing esp. the division
of real property held jointly or in common, by two or more persons into individually owned
interests.
The party who brings a civil suit in a court of law.
A formal promise or undertaking; The act of providing as security for a debt or obligation; A
bailment or other deposit of personal property to a creditor as security for a debt or obligation;
The thing so provided a security interest in personal property represented by an indispensible
instrument, the interest being created by a bailment or other deposit of personal property for the
purpose of securing the payment of a debt or performance of some other duty.
The fact of having or holding property in ones power; Ownership title; The right under which
one may exercise control over something to the exclusion of all others; The continuing exercise
of a claim to the exclusive use of a material object.
The right to buy before others; The purchase of something under this right; An earlier seizure or
appropriation; The occupation of public land so as to establish a preemptive title.
The act of establishing authoritative rules; The extinction of a title or right by failure to claim or
exercise it over a long period; The acquisition of title to a thing (esp. an intangible thing i.e. use
of real property) by open and continuous possession over a statutory period.
The judicial procedure by which a testamentary document is established to be a valid will; The
proving of a will to the satisfaction of the court; Unless set aside; Conclusive upon the parties to
the proceedings on all questions of testamentary capacity, the absence of fraud, or undue
influence, and due execution of the will; Does not preclude inquiry into the validity of the wills
provisions or on their proper construction or legal effect.
The right to possess, use, and enjoy a determinate thing; Any external thing over which the rights
of possession, use and enjoyment are exercised.
Involving or inflicting punishment.
A soft boggy area of land that gives way underfoot.
A proportional share assigned to a person or group; An allotment; A quantitative restriction (min.
or max.).
Real property; Land and anything growing on, attached to, erected on it that cannot be removed
without injury to the land.
The act or instance of reclaiming or regaining possession by paying a specific price; The
payment of a defaulted mortgage debt by a borrower who does not want to lose the property.
A cancellation or extinguishment of all of a financial obligation; A release of a debt or claim.
The express or tacit abandonment of a right without transferring it to another; The act of waiving
a right under a will.
An action for the repossession of personal property wrongfully taken or detained by the
defendant, whereby the plaintiff gives security for and holds the property until the court decides
who owns it; A unit obtain from a court authorizing the retaking of personal property wrongfully
taken or detained.
A persons refusal to accept a benefice; A contracting partys words or actions that indicate an
intention not to perform the contract in the future; A threatened breach of contract.

PROPERTY - Definition of Terms

Reversion

Salvage

Seisin
Servitude

Spoilage
Subdivision
Tenancy

Testament
Testate
Tort

Trespass

Umbrage
Underwrite
Usurp
Vacant
Voidable
Warranty

Will
Wrongdoer
Yield
Zealous

The interest that is left after subtracting what the transferor has parted with from what the
transferor originally had. Specifically, a future interest in land arising by operation of law
whenever an estate owner grants to another a particular estate, such as a life estate or term of
years, but does not dispose of the entire interest; Occurs automatically upon termination of prior
estate (i.e the tenants dies).
The rescue of imperiled property; The property saved or remaining after a fire or other loss,
retained by an insurance company that has compensated the owner for the loss; Compensation
allowed to a person who, having no duly to do so, helps save a ship or its cargo.
Possession of a freehold estate in land, ownership; (synonymous with ownership).
An encumbrance consisting in a right to the limited use of a piece of land or other immovable
property without possession of it; A charge or burden on an estate for anothers benefit (i.e
easement an equitable servitude); Includes easement, profits, irrevocable licenses and real
covenants.
The act or process of spoiling or perishing.
The division of a thing into smaller parts; A parcel of land in a larger development.
The possession or occupancy of land under a lease; A leasehold interest in real estate; The period
of such possession or occupancy; The possession of real or personal property by right on the title,
esp. under a conveying instrument such as a deed or will.
Traditionally, a will disposing of personal property.
Having left a will at death.
A civil wrong, other than breach of contract, for which a remedy may be obtained, usually in the
form of damages; A breach of duty that the law imposes on persons who stand in a particular
relation to one another.
An unlawful act committed against the person or property of another esp. wrongful entry on
anothers real property; (COMMON LAW) A legal action for injuries resulting from an unlawful
act of this kind.
Shade or shadow, especially as cast by trees.
To assume a risk by insuring it; The act of agreeing to buy all or parts of a new issue of securities
to be offered for public sale.
To seize and assume anothers position, authority unlawfully.
Empty, unoccupied empty; Absolutely free, unclaimed and unoccupied; (Estate) abandoned,
having no heir or claimant.
Valid until annulled, especially capable of being affirmed or rejected at the option of one of the
parties; a valid act that may be voided.
A covenant by which the guarantor in a deed promises to secure to the grantee the estate
conveyed in the deed, and pledges to compensate the grantee if the grantee is evicted by someone
having better title; Binding on the grantors heirs.
The legal expression of an individuals wishes about the disposition of his/her property after
death esp. a document by which a person directs his/her estate to be distributed upon death.
One who violates the law.
To give up, relinquish, or surrender; (HIST) to perform a service owed by a tenant to a lord;
Profit expressed as a percentage of the investment.
Marked by fervent partisanship for a person, a cause, or an ideal.