Land Patents and Deeds
What is a Land Patent?
US Land patents are the legal documents that transferred land ownership from the U.S. Government to individuals. It is an exclusive land grant made by a sovereign entity over the land in question. To make such a grant “patent”, a sovereign (proprietary landowner) must document the land being granted, securely sign and seal the document (patent), and openly publish the documents for the public to see. An official land patent is the highest evidence of rights to use, title, and interest to a specifically defined and located tract of land; usually granted by a central, federal, or state government to an individual or private company.
Besides patent, other terms for the certificate that grants such rights include first-title deed and final certificate. In the United States, all land can be traced back to the respective land patent, first title deed, and claims that document titles for land originally owned by France, Spain, United Kingdom, Mexico, Russia, or Native Americans.
A land patent is known in law as "letters patent" and usually issues to the original grantee and to their heirs and assigns forever. The patent stands as supreme title to the land because it attests that all evidence of title existent before its issue date was reviewed by the sovereign authority under which it was sealed and was so sealed as irrefutable; thus, at law the land patent itself so becomes the title to the land defined within its four corners.
After the American Revolution and the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, the United States Treasury Department was placed in charge of managing all public lands. In 1812, the General Land Office was created to assume that duty.
In accord with specific Acts of Congress, and under the hand and seal of the President of the United States of America, the General Land Office issued more than 2 million land grants made patent (land patents), passing the title of specific parcels of public land from the nation to private parties (individuals or private companies). Some of the land so granted had survey or other costs associated with it. Some patentees paid those fees for their land in cash, others homesteaded a claim, and still others came into ownership via one of the many donation acts that Congress passed to transfer public lands to private ownership. Whatever the method, the General Land Office followed a two-step procedure in granting a patent.
First, the private claimant went to the land office in the land district where the public land was located. The claimant filled out entry papers to select the public land, and the land office register (clerk) checked the local registrar records to make sure the claimed land was still available. The receiver (bursar) took the claimant’s payment, because even homesteaders had to pay administrative fees.
Next, the district land office register and receiver sent the paperwork to the General Land Office in Washington. That office double-checked the accuracy of the claim, its availability and the form of payment. Finally, the General Land Office issued a land patent for the claimed public land and sent it on to the President for his signature.
What is a Deed?
Published 1856. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier.
A written instrument, which has been signed and delivered, by which one individual, the grantor, conveys title to real property to another individual, the grantee; a conveyance of land, tenements, or hereditaments, from one individual to another. At Common Law, a deed was an instrument under seal that contained a Covenant or contract delivered by the individual who was to be bound by it to the party to whom it was granted.
Transfer of Land
Land can only be transferred from one individual to another in the legally prescribed manner. Historically speaking, a written deed is the instrument used to convey ownership of real property.
A deed is labeled an instrument of conveyance. A deed must describe with reasonable certainty the land that is being conveyed. The conveyance must include operative words of grant; however, technical terms do not need to be used. The grantor must be adequately identified by the conveyance, although it is not required that the grantor's name be specifically mentioned. State laws sometimes require that the deed indicate the residence of the grantor by town, city, county, and state.
In order for title to property to pass, a deed must specify the grantee with sufficient certainty to distinguish that individual from the rest of the world. Some statutes mandate that the deed list the grantee's residence by town, city, county, and state.
Execution of a Deed
In order for a deed to be properly executed, certain acts must be performed to create a valid conveyance. Ordinarily, an essential element of execution is the signature of the grantor in the proper place. It is not necessary, however, that the grantee sign the deed in order for it to take effect as a conveyance. Generally state statutes require that the deed be signed in the presence of witnesses, attesting to the grantor's request
Proper delivery of a deed from the grantor to the grantee is an essential element of its effectiveness. In addition, the grantor must make some statement or perform some act that implies his or her intention to transfer title. It is insufficient for a grantor to have the mere intention to transfer title, in the absence of further conduct that consummates the purpose.
There is no particular prescribed act, method, or ceremony required for delivery, and it is unnecessary that express words be employed or used in a specified manner. The deed need not be physically delivered to the grantee. It is sufficient to mail it to the grantee. Delivery of the deed by the attorney who has written the instrument for the grantor is also adequate. Unless otherwise provided by statute, a deed becomes effective upon its delivery date. The mere fact that the grantee has physical possession of the deed does not constitute delivery unless it was so intended by the grantor.
Acceptance
A deed must be accepted by the grantee in order for proper transfer of title to land to be accomplished. There are no fixed principles regarding what acts are sufficient to effect acceptance, since the issue is largely dependent upon the party's intent.
Acceptance of a deed need not be made by express words or in writing, absent a contrary statutory provision. A deed is ordinarily accepted when the grantee retains it or obtains a mortgage on the property at issue.
Recording
Legal policy mandates that a deed to real property be a matter of public record; therefore, subsequent to delivery and acceptance, a deed must be properly recorded. The recording process begins when the deed is presented to the clerk's or recorder's office in the county where the property is located. The entire instrument is duplicated. The copy is inserted into the current book of official records, which consists exclusively of copies of documents that are maintained and labeled in numerical order.
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US Land patents are the legal documents that transferred land ownership from the U.S. Government to individuals. It is an exclusive land grant made by a sovereign entity over the land in question. To make such a grant “patent”, a sovereign (proprietary landowner) must document the land being granted, securely sign and seal the document (patent), and openly publish the documents for the public to see. An official land patent is the highest evidence of rights to use, title, and interest to a specifically defined and located tract of land; usually granted by a central, federal, or state government to an individual or private company.
Besides patent, other terms for the certificate that grants such rights include first-title deed and final certificate. In the United States, all land can be traced back to the respective land patent, first title deed, and claims that document titles for land originally owned by France, Spain, United Kingdom, Mexico, Russia, or Native Americans.
A land patent is known in law as "letters patent" and usually issues to the original grantee and to their heirs and assigns forever. The patent stands as supreme title to the land because it attests that all evidence of title existent before its issue date was reviewed by the sovereign authority under which it was sealed and was so sealed as irrefutable; thus, at law the land patent itself so becomes the title to the land defined within its four corners.
After the American Revolution and the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, the United States Treasury Department was placed in charge of managing all public lands. In 1812, the General Land Office was created to assume that duty.
In accord with specific Acts of Congress, and under the hand and seal of the President of the United States of America, the General Land Office issued more than 2 million land grants made patent (land patents), passing the title of specific parcels of public land from the nation to private parties (individuals or private companies). Some of the land so granted had survey or other costs associated with it. Some patentees paid those fees for their land in cash, others homesteaded a claim, and still others came into ownership via one of the many donation acts that Congress passed to transfer public lands to private ownership. Whatever the method, the General Land Office followed a two-step procedure in granting a patent.
First, the private claimant went to the land office in the land district where the public land was located. The claimant filled out entry papers to select the public land, and the land office register (clerk) checked the local registrar records to make sure the claimed land was still available. The receiver (bursar) took the claimant’s payment, because even homesteaders had to pay administrative fees.
Next, the district land office register and receiver sent the paperwork to the General Land Office in Washington. That office double-checked the accuracy of the claim, its availability and the form of payment. Finally, the General Land Office issued a land patent for the claimed public land and sent it on to the President for his signature.
What is a Deed?
Published 1856. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier.
A written instrument, which has been signed and delivered, by which one individual, the grantor, conveys title to real property to another individual, the grantee; a conveyance of land, tenements, or hereditaments, from one individual to another. At Common Law, a deed was an instrument under seal that contained a Covenant or contract delivered by the individual who was to be bound by it to the party to whom it was granted.
Transfer of Land
Land can only be transferred from one individual to another in the legally prescribed manner. Historically speaking, a written deed is the instrument used to convey ownership of real property.
A deed is labeled an instrument of conveyance. A deed must describe with reasonable certainty the land that is being conveyed. The conveyance must include operative words of grant; however, technical terms do not need to be used. The grantor must be adequately identified by the conveyance, although it is not required that the grantor's name be specifically mentioned. State laws sometimes require that the deed indicate the residence of the grantor by town, city, county, and state.
In order for title to property to pass, a deed must specify the grantee with sufficient certainty to distinguish that individual from the rest of the world. Some statutes mandate that the deed list the grantee's residence by town, city, county, and state.
Execution of a Deed
In order for a deed to be properly executed, certain acts must be performed to create a valid conveyance. Ordinarily, an essential element of execution is the signature of the grantor in the proper place. It is not necessary, however, that the grantee sign the deed in order for it to take effect as a conveyance. Generally state statutes require that the deed be signed in the presence of witnesses, attesting to the grantor's request
Proper delivery of a deed from the grantor to the grantee is an essential element of its effectiveness. In addition, the grantor must make some statement or perform some act that implies his or her intention to transfer title. It is insufficient for a grantor to have the mere intention to transfer title, in the absence of further conduct that consummates the purpose.
There is no particular prescribed act, method, or ceremony required for delivery, and it is unnecessary that express words be employed or used in a specified manner. The deed need not be physically delivered to the grantee. It is sufficient to mail it to the grantee. Delivery of the deed by the attorney who has written the instrument for the grantor is also adequate. Unless otherwise provided by statute, a deed becomes effective upon its delivery date. The mere fact that the grantee has physical possession of the deed does not constitute delivery unless it was so intended by the grantor.
Acceptance
A deed must be accepted by the grantee in order for proper transfer of title to land to be accomplished. There are no fixed principles regarding what acts are sufficient to effect acceptance, since the issue is largely dependent upon the party's intent.
Acceptance of a deed need not be made by express words or in writing, absent a contrary statutory provision. A deed is ordinarily accepted when the grantee retains it or obtains a mortgage on the property at issue.
Recording
Legal policy mandates that a deed to real property be a matter of public record; therefore, subsequent to delivery and acceptance, a deed must be properly recorded. The recording process begins when the deed is presented to the clerk's or recorder's office in the county where the property is located. The entire instrument is duplicated. The copy is inserted into the current book of official records, which consists exclusively of copies of documents that are maintained and labeled in numerical order.
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