Applications of Title (property)
Posted on:3/29/2006
| In countries with a sophisticated private property system, documents of title are commonly used for real estate, motor vehicles, and some types of intangible property. |
In countries with a sophisticated private property system, documents of title are commonly used for real estate, motor vehicles, and some types of intangible property. When such documents are used, they are often part of a registration system whereby ownership of such property can be verified. In the case of real estate, the legal instrument used to transfer title is the deed. A famous rule is that a thief cannot convey good title, so title searches are routine (or highly recommended) for purchases of many types of expensive property (especially real estate).
However, most personal property items do not have a formal document of title. For such items, possession is the simplest indication of title, unless the circumstances give rise to suspicion about the possessor's ownership of the item. Transfer of possession to a good faith purchaser will normally convey title if no document is required.
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