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| ABSTRACT | An abbreviation of the main aspects of all recorded deeds, mortgages, leases and other instruments affecting the title to a particular piece of land. |
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| ACKNOWLEDGMENT | (1) Generally, the act of the maker or makers of a real estate instrument in going before a Notary Public or other judicial officer and acknowledging that they signed that instrument without fear or compulsion, and for the purposes expressed in it. The laws providing for acknowledgments incident to real estate papers were enacted to help prevent forgeries or undue advantage over the makers. Forms and procedures for acknowledgments vary from state to state, some being considered probate procedures in which the probity or authenticity of the instrument is proven.
(2) Generally, a form of certificate made by a notary public or judicial officer, appended to deeds, mortgages, leases and other real estate instruments, certifying that the maker or makers of such instruments appeared before the notary or judicial officer and acknowledged that they signed the instrument without compulsion or fear and for the purposes indicated in the instrument.
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| ADMINISTER | To pay the debts and wind up the business of a deceased person's estate. Also, to handle and dispose of properties of an estate by an executor, administrator or trustee in conformity with legal procedures and provisions of wills or trust instruments. |
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| ADMINISTRATOR | A person appointed by a probate court to administer the estate of a person who dies intestate; that is, without leaving a will. |
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| ADVERSE POSSESSION | Unauthorized occupation of land belonging to another, by a person who does not have the owner’s consent. The occupier is said to hold possession adversely to the rights and interests of the owner. In most states, by operation of law, title to the land becomes vested in the occupier after a fixed number of years of peaceful (i.e., uncontested) occupancy. |
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| AFFIDAVIT | A written statement made under oath before a notary public or other judicial officer. |
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| AGENT | One who, having received authority from another, acts in such other person's behalf within the scope of that authority. |
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| AGREEMENT | A legally binding compact made between two or more persons. |
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| ALLODIAL TENURE | Absolute ownership of real estate which is subject to inheritance by the owner's heirs or to disposition by the owner as he sees fit, as opposed to the feudal system of ownership. Allodial tenure is characteristic of ownerships in the United States. |
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| AMORTIZATION | From the Latin words "mors" or "mort" meaning death or dead, it means killing off an existing debt by regular partial payments. The word "mortgage" also comes from the same Latin root. |
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| ANNUITY | Annual payment of income to individuals under certain types of insurance policies and sometimes under the provisions of wills and trust estates. From the Latin word "annus," meaning year. |
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| APPRAISE | To judge or estimate the value of real estate. From Latin "appretiare," meaning to set or fix a value. |
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| APPROVED ATTORNEY | A practicing lawyer whose examinations of title and title opinions are acceptable to a title insurance company as a basis for issuing its policies. |
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| ASSESSED VALUATION | The estimated value of property for tax purposes, usually fixed by the tax assessor. |
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| ASSESSMENT | (1) Fixing the amount of taxes or special improvement charges. (2) The amount of those taxes or special improvement charges. Special improvement charges are usually for the costs of streets, sidewalks, sewers, etc. |
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| ASSIGNEE | For example, the person who receives ownership of a contract or a mortgage by transfer from another. |
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| ASSIGNMENT | (1) The act of transferring ownership of something from one person to another. (2) The instrument or paper by which one person transfers ownership of a right or an object to another. |
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| ASSIGNOR | The person who transfers ownership of a contract or mortgage to another, for example. |
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| ATTACHMENT | A legal remedy to aid collection of a debt, usually in relation to to a lawsuit against the debtor in which the court issues a writ of attachment and the sheriff seizes the debtor’s property under the writ’s authority and direction. The sheriff holds the property pending the outcome of the lawsuit, keeping it available for sale to pay any money judgment that results. |
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| BACK TITLE LETTER | Also called "Back Title Certificate" in some areas, and "Starter" in others. Where titles have been previously examined up to a certain date by reliable examiners, title companies sometimes give subsequent examiners a letter which sets forth the condition of the title at the time of the previous examination and authorizes them to begin their subsequent examination with the last date of the previous examination (See Tacking On). |
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