ownership; a term used in property law to denote the composite of facts that will permit one to recover (or to retain possession of) a thing.
EXAMPLE:
John’s car is stolen. The thief sells it to Jane (who pays a fair value for the car and has no knowledge/suspicion that it is stolen). John still has superior title to the car [over Jane] even though Jane paid money for the vehicle. As a basic principle of law, a person cannot [ordinarily] take title from a thief.
- ADVERSE TITLE
- a title asserted in opposition to another; one claimed to have been acquired by adverse possession.
- CLEAR TITLE
- see clear title
- CLEAR TITLE OF RECORD
- a title that the record shows to be an indefeasible unencumbered estate.
- COLOR OF TITLE
- see color of title.
- EQUITABLE TITLE
- ownership that is recognized by a court of equity (or founded upon equitable principles) – as opposed to formal legal title. The purchaser of real property can require specific performance of his contract for purchase. So, as a result (and prior to the actual conveyance), he/she has an enforceable equitable title that can be terminated only by a bona fide purchaser.
- MARKETABLE TITLE
- see marketable title.
- QUIET TITLE
- see quiet title
- TITLE [OF A STATUTE]
- the heading of a statute/legislative bill, which introduces it by giving a brief description/summary of the matters it embraces.
