Cheshire | Glossary of Terms

The following abbreviations are used in the index books to describe the type of document that has been recorded.

(Definitions according to Black’s Law Dictionary)

AFFID – Affidavit – A written declaration or statement of facts made voluntarily

AG – Agreement – A mutual understanding between two or more parties

AN – Assignment – A transfer of some kind of property usually intangible such as rights to a mortgage or lease

AT – Attachment – A document used to seize debtor’s property in order to secure a debt

CD – Collector’s deed – Tax Collector deeds property for delinquent taxes

DC – Death Certificate – (Usually filed when there was joint tenancy and one of the parties has died)

FID DEED – Fiduciary Deed – A deed in which a person manages property for another, i.e. executor of an estate, receiver in bankruptcy

DISCH – Discharge – To release – to extinguish an obligation

EA – Easement – The right to use the land of another for a special purpose

FORECL – Foreclosure Deed – Procedure by which mortgaged property is sold on default of mortgagor for satisfaction of a mortgage

MTG – Mortgage – An interest in land created by a written instrument providing security for the performance of a duty or the payment of a debt

PR – Partial Release – Releasing specific parcels

PW – Power of Attorney – An instrument authorizing another to act as one’s agent or attorney

M-H Quit – Manufactured Housing Quitclaim

M-H Wty – Manufactured Housing Warranty

QUIT – Quitclaim Deed – A deed that neither the grantor or anyone claiming under him has encumbered the property

RO – Right of Way – The right of a party to pass over land of another

TA – Tax Advertisement – Advertising for non-payment of property taxes

TS – Tax Sale – Selling for the amount of delinquent taxes, thereby creating a lien – NOT a sale of the property

TP– Tax Release – Redemption of delinquent property taxes

TT – Tax Lien – Process by which tax collector liens owner for non-payment of property taxes

WTY – Warranty Deed – Deed is one in which the grantor warrants good title

LEGAL TERMS USED IN THE REGISTRY

&AL – When &AL follows a name in the index, there are others as a party to the document. If John & Mary Smith purchased property, they would be listed in the index as Smith, John &Al and Smith, Mary &AL

ATTORNEY – One who is appointed and authorized to act in the place of another, (In the most common sense, this means an “Attorney at Law” or a “Lawyer”

CREDITOR – One to whom a debt is owing by another person

DEBTOR – One who owes a debt

DEFENDANT – The party whom relief or recovery is sought in an action or suit

GRANTEE – The person who is receiving the property

GRANTING CLAUSE – The beginning paragraph of a document stating the sellers and buyers

GRANTOR – The person who is transferring property

LIEN – A charge or encumbrance upon property

MORTGAGE – A mortgage is an interest in a loan created by a written instrument providing security for the performance of a duty or payment of a debt

MORTGAGEE – He that takes or receives a mortgage

MORTGAGOR – One who pledges property to secure a loan

PLAINTIFF – A person who brings an action – the party who complains or sues in a civil action

PLAT – (Also referred to as a plan or a map) A drawing showing the location and boundaries of individual properties

REFERENCE CLAUSE – Follows the legal description and often begins “Meaning and intending to convey” and then often recites book and page where the current seller acquired the property now being sold –

SUBDIVISION- The division of a parcel of land into two or more lots

SURNAME – The last name changing the records.