A quiet word to the wise

Posted by Lewis on April 14, 2003

In Reply to: Re: Quiet Land Title posted by ESC on April 14, 2003

: : : Any idea as to what a "quiet land title" might be?

: : : Thanks in advance for any information.

: : A guess. A 'land title' is an expression of ownership of a piece of land - I hold the 'title deeds' to my house. Some people might wish their ownership to be kept secret, thus their ownership is described as 'quiet', a bit like a 'sleeping partner' in a firm.

: This is from a book of legal terms in the U.S.:

: QUIET TITLE - "a suit in equity brought to obtain a final determination as to the title of a specific piece of property. A quiet title is distinguished from an action to 'remove cloud on title,' which is brought to determine and resolve problems of 'instruments' conveying a particular piece of land, rather than to resolve the actual claims to that land. Example: Evan believes he is the rightful owner of a parcel of land, but there is a question concerning the transfer of the land 25 years ago. In order to satisfy any doubts so that he may sell the property, Evan brings a 'quiet title' action to confirm his ownership by judicial decree." From "Barron's Dictionary of Legal Terms," Third Edition, by Steven H. Gifis.

You need to watch out on context - for example "quiet enjoyment" is not quite what you would expect and is a technical term. I suggest that it would be negligent to rely of what people say on here without checking with a qualified lawyer from the jurisdiction of the place of origin of the document - and giving that lawyer the full context. It is taking a considerable an unprofessional risk to drop legal phrases on here and expect to be able to rely on the answers.
Legal dictionaries are not a guarantee either, so be careful.

We are prepared to help, but an answer on here cannot be relied upon if you are a professional.

"I hereby give notice that I shall answer to the best of my knowledge and belief, but that any opinion should be seen as general guidance only and checked with a qualified and insured attorney permitted to advise upon the specific jurisdiction to which the enquiry relates."

That should cover it...