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| Acquisition of property |
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| Gift · Adverse possession · Deed |
| Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property |
| Bailment · Licence |
| Estates in land |
| Fee simple · Life estate · Fee tail |
| Concurrent estate · Leasehold estate |
| Conveyancing of interests in land |
| Bona fide purchaser · Torrens title |
| Estoppel by deed · Quitclaim deed |
| Mortgage · Equitable conversion |
| Limiting control over future use |
| Restraint on alienation |
| Rule against perpetuities |
| Rule in Shelley's Case |
| Doctrine of worthier title |
| Nonpossessory interest in land |
| Easement · Profit |
| Covenant running with the land |
| Equitable servitude |
| Related topics |
| Fixtures · Waste |
| Assignment · Nemo dat |
| Other areas of the common law |
| Contract law · Tort law |
| Wills and trusts |
| Criminal law · Evidence |
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Historically under Common law, for an instrument to be a valid deed it needed five things:
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. One such example is when the Governor of New Zealand, Sir George Grey, established the Auckland and Wellington Grammar schools in 1850.
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 residenial 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.