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Term
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Definition
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abstract of title
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document showing how the title of a property devolved to the current owner; often a summary of prior ownership listing details of previous deeds
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abuttal
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adjoining property to that involved in a deed
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administration
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process by which goods and possessions passed to the heirs of a person who had died intestate
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admittance (or admission)
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ceremony by which a new copyhold tenant gained entry to a customary holding by paying a fine and receiving a rod
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advowson
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the right of presentation of clergy to a rectory or vicarage
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affidavit
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statement made in writing by a deponent, and confirmed by the swearing of an oath
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annuity
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annual money payment
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apportionment
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allotment, usually of a sum of money such as a rent or a tithe payment, between a number of beneficiaries in the proportion due to them.
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appurtenance
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other 'things' belonging to a property, e.g. yards, gardens, rights etc
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assignee
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person to whom something has been assigned or transferred
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assignment
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transfer - perhaps of a lease or a mortgage
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attorney
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1. a lawyer
2. a person appointed to do something on another person's behalf in a letter of attorney
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bar entail
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prevent an entail from taking effect
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bargain and sale
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an early form of conveyance
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bond
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agreement to pay a penalty if certain conditions or actions are not performed
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chancery
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formerly the highest court of the land, to which many cases relating to property were taken
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chirograph
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archaic word for a final concord or other indenture
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codicil
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addition to a will, signed and sealed by the testator
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common recovery
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a legal 'fiction' by which land could be transferred instead of using a conveyance
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consideration
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usually the purchase money for a property; sometimes the consideration was not a monetary payment but the 'natural love and affection' from a parent to a child
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convey
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to transfer freehold property from one party to another
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copyhold
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property held by copy of court roll, i.e. held of a manor
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corporeal hereditaments
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tangible property such as land and buildings; also known as real property
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counterpart
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a second copy of an indenture, exactly matching the first
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covenant
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an agreement entered into by one or more parties to a deed
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curtilage
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a yard or court belonging to a dwelling house
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declaration of trust
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process by which a person is made a trustee, including details of what the trust involves
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deed poll
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deed made and executed by only one party. With a straight top edge
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defeasance
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a deed which acted to cancel a recognizance of a statute staple
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deforciant
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the defendant in a final concord
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demandant
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person/group attempting to recover property in a common recovery
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demise
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lease
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deponent
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person who swears an oath to confirm an affidavit
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determination
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ceasing of provisions within a deed
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devise
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to transfer property through a will
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devisee
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someone receiving property from a will
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disentail
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to break an entail
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dower
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a widow's right to one third of her late husband's property
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easement
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a right or a privilege over property, e.g. a right of way
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encumbrance
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something affecting title to property, e.g. a mortgage or entail
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endorsement
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something written on the back of a deed
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enfranchise
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convert copyhold land into freehold tenure
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enrolment
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copy of a deed kept on a court roll
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entail
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the settlement of property so that it must descend in a specified manner, for example from father to eldest son or husband to wife; the property must not be sold or otherwise disposed of
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entry fine
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sum of money payable on entering a property e.g. as a leasehold or copyhold tenant
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enure
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to hand over to a person, or to belong to that person; especially following a common recovery or final concord
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equity of redemption
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the right of a mortgagor to redeem the property he has mortgaged; this right could be passed to a third party
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executor/trix
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person appointed to carry out the provisions of a will; an executor is male, executrix female
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exemplification
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a formal copy of a deed, normally issued with a seal of court; most commonly a common recovery, but sometimes a fine
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fee/fee simple
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absolute possession of freehold land
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fee tail
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an estate of inheritance limited to a particular heir or heirs thanks to provisions in settlements or wills
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feoffee
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a trustee who holds land without specified conditions
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feoffment
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a means of conveying property, technically by a ceremony called livery of seizin
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final concord (fine)
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record of a collusive court case in which the plaintiff demanded property from the deforciant; usually used as a further way to prove title following a feoffment
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fine
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another term for a final concord; OR a sum of money paid for the granting of a lease or admission to copyhold
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freehold
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land held in fee simple
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further charge
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an additional sum lent on the security of an existing mortgage
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gift (deed of)
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the transfer of real property in medieval times; the term was used even if no money changed hands
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grant
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means of transferring incorporeal property
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grantee
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person to whom something is granted
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grantor
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person who grants something to another
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heir
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person who is due to inherit property
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incorporeal hereditaments
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intangible property, such as rights and privileges
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incumbrances
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things affecting a property e.g. a mortgage or a rent charge
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indenture
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a type of deed which had an 'indented' (wavy) top edge; usually two copies prepared, one to be kept by each party
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intestacy
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act of dying without having made a will
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lease
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a grant of property for a specified amount of time, usually a term of years
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leasehold
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property held by means of a lease
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lease and release
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a means of conveying property; a lease was granted for a year, and the following day the lessor or grantor's rights of ownership were released in return for a consideration
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lessee
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person to whom a lease was granted
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lessor
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person granting a lease
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letter of attorney
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document allowing one named party to act on behalf of another
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letters of administration
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permission to administer the estate of a deceased person, issued by a probate court in cases of intestacy or where the will was inadequate or unable to be proved
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letters patent
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a form of royal grant
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levy
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the action of executing a final concord
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licence to alienate
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royal permission to sell a manor, written in letters patent
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livery of seizin
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the delivery of possession of freehold property
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memorandum
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note summarising the terms of a particular transaction; often endorsed on deeds
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messuage
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term used for a property, often a dwelling house
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moiety
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half of a property
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mortgage
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a loan secured by property temporarily transferred from mortgagor to mortgagee
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mortgagee
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person lending money in a mortgage
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mortgagor
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person borrowing money in a mortgage
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nuncupative will
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will which was declared orally but not written down or signed by the testator
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partition
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division of property between two or more interested parties
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party/ies
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a person, group or organisation playing one of the roles in the transaction recorded by a deed, e.g. as lessor/lessee, seller/purchaser etc
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peppercorn
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nominal consideration in a lease and release
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plaintiff
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the person/group demanding property in a final concord
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portion
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a share of property allotted to an individual or group
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principal sum
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money lent in a mortgage, to be repaid with interest
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probate
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the process of establishing that a will is valid
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proviso
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a condition stated in a clause in a deed
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querent
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another word for plaintiff in a final concord
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quitclaim
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deed renouncing any rights or interests in property
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real property
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tangible property such as land and buildings; also known as corporeal hereditaments
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recital
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the repetition of a previous event or deed which may affect property being transferred; the event or deed is 'recited' at the beginning of the new deed; a recital is always introduced by the word 'whereas'
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recognizance
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a strong form of a bond, normally cancelled by a defeasance
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release
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1. second part of a lease and release conveyance
2. release of claims = another word for a quitclaim
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remainder
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an estate in expectation, i.e. the words which indicate that a person will inherit, e.g. the property is transferred to A and his heirs, and in the event of there being no heirs, the remainder to B (therefore B will inherit instead)
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rent charge
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a rent paid out of certain lands to a person other than the owner of those lands
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requisitions on title
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questions posed in writing by lawyers to iron out any legal queries relating to a property sale
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reversion
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the return of a leased property to the original owner after the lease has expired
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seal
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authentication of a deed; an impression in wax attached to or stuck onto the deed
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seizin
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possession of freehold property
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settlement
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transfer of property to trustees, for specified purposes
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statute staple
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a strong form of bond, normally cancelled by a defeasance
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statutory declaration
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statement in writing, confirmed by a declaration made in accordance with the Statutory Declaration Act 1835
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surrender
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the return of leasehold or copyhold property to the lessor or lord of the manor
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tenant to the praecipe
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a third party in a common recovery to whom property is conveyed in name in order for it to be recovered
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tenement
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a description of property, usually including a building; a messuage may be divided into two tenements
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tenure
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the way in which property is held e.g. freehold tenure, leasehold tenure
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testator/trix
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person writing a will; a testator is male, a testatrix female
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title
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the ownership of property
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trust
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holding property according to specified conditions, e.g. to administer or manage the estate and pay the profits to another, perhaps an underage heir
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trustee
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the person holding property in trust
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uses
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the purposes for which a property is held in trust by a trustee - usually specified in a settlement
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vouchee
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person summoned in a common recovery to give proof of title to property
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wardship
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feudal right of a lord to custody of his tenant's heir whilst a minor
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warranty
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an undertaking by a grantor to support a new owner's rights to property transferred
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whereas
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word which marks the beginning of a recital in a deed
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