Personal Property This week’s lectures will focus on tangible property.  There are two main divisions in property: the law dealing with real property (land and items permanently attached to land) and the law dealing with personal property (all other items).   The essence of property law is ownership.  This ownership may be held outright, or it may be held in common with others as a joint tenant.  Ownership interests are acquired in many ways including by possession (in the case of wild animals hunted or finding lost and abandoned property), by production, or by gift. A gift is a voluntary transfer of property ownership not supported by consideration. There are three elements to a valid gift:  · Donative intent- this is ascertained by the language of the donor and the surrounding circumstances. · Delivery- this requires giving up dominion and control of the item. With some items, constructive delivery may be applied. This is true, for example, in the situation where a key to a car is given symbolizing that the car has been given.   · Acceptance- the donee must accept the gift. This is generally assumed.  Gifts are ordinarily unconditional. However, the gift may be conditional in some situations. A gift causa mortis, for example, is a gift given in anticipation of death. If the donor (gift giver) does not die, the gift becomes invalid.   Mislaid, lost or abandoned property presents difficult challenges in the area of personal property law.   Mislaid property gives the owner—not a random finder—the first claim to the property. Mislaid property is property that the owner did not intend to lose. However, if the owner does not claim the property the finder may keep it.  Lost property is treated similarly. The owner has the first claim. However, the finder may keep it if the owner does not claim it (many states require the finder to seek out the owner).  Finally, property that has been intentionally abandoned is the finder's, as the owner is presumed to have surrendered all rights in ownership in possession.   The final area of law we need to discuss is bailments. Bailments are created when an owner gives possession (but not ownership) to another temporarily.  Most bailments are created by agreement. And although the elements of a contract may be present, this is not necessarily true except in the case of a commercial bailment, for example, where a patron gives a suit to a dry cleaner.  The bailment is created when: · Personal property is;  · Delivered without title;  · Under an agreement that property be returned to the bailor or otherwise disposed of according to the owners instructions. Delivery requires the bailee to surrender exclusive possession and control to the bailor who must accept the property.   The agreement does not need to be in writing for bailments lasting less than a year.  The bailment gives the bailee certain rights including the right of temporary control and possession of the bailed property, use of the property for the purpos.

1. Personal Property
This week’s lectures will focus on tangible property. There are
two main divisions in property: the law dealing with real
property (land and items permanently attached to land) and the
law dealing with personal property (all other items). The
essence of property law is ownership. This ownership may be
held outright, or it may be held in common with others as a
joint tenant. Ownership interests are acquired in many ways
including by possession (in the case of wild animals hunted or
finding lost and abandoned property), by production, or by gift.
A gift is a voluntary transfer of property ownership not
supported by consideration.
There are three elements to a valid gift:
· Donative intent- this is ascertained by the language of the
donor and the surrounding circumstances.
· Delivery- this requires giving up dominion and control of the
item. With some items, constructive delivery may be applied.
This is true, for example, in the situation where a key to a car is
given symbolizing that the car has been given.
· Acceptance- the donee must accept the gift. This is generally
assumed.
Gifts are ordinarily unconditional. However, the gift may be
conditional in some situations. A gift causa mortis, for example,
is a gift given in anticipation of death. If the donor (gift giver)
does not die, the gift becomes invalid.
Mislaid, lost or abandoned property presents difficult
challenges in the area of personal property law. Mislaid
property gives the owner—not a random finder—the first claim
to the property. Mislaid property is property that the owner did
not intend to lose. However, if the owner does not claim the
property the finder may keep it. Lost property is treated
similarly. The owner has the first claim. However, the finder
may keep it if the owner does not claim it (many states require
the finder to seek out the owner). Finally, property that has

2. been intentionally abandoned is the finder's, as the owner is
presumed to have surrendered all rights in ownership in
possession.
The final area of law we need to discuss is bailments. Bailments
are created when an owner gives possession (but not ownership)
to another temporarily. Most bailments are created by
agreement. And although the elements of a contract may be
present, this is not necessarily true except in the case of a
commercial bailment, for example, where a patron gives a suit
to a dry cleaner. The bailment is created when:
· Personal property is;
· Delivered without title;
· Under an agreement that property be returned to the bailor or
otherwise disposed of according to the owners instructions.
Delivery requires the bailee to surrender exclusive possession
and control to the bailor who must accept the property. The
agreement does not need to be in writing for bailments lasting
less than a year. The bailment gives the bailee certain rights
including the right of temporary control and possession of the
bailed property, use of the property for the purposes of the
bailment, compensation or reimbursement of expenses (or both),
and limited liability for the bailed goods. These rights come
with certain duty. Chief among these are a duty of care (the
bailee must care for the property during the bailment) and the
duty to return bailed property (the bailee must surrender or
dispose of the property).
Real Property
The first lecture this week discussed personal property. This
lecture will continue along the theme of property with a
discussion of real property.
Real property is land and vegetation and artificial structures on
the land. For these purposes, land includes the soil, artificial
structures attached to it, minerals, and some amount of the air

3. above the surface of the land.
Ownership in land can be conceived as having a bundle of
rights. This bundle would include having the ability to exclude
others from the land, to mine minerals located there, and sell
the land among other interests. The most common way land is
owned is in fee simple. Owning land in fee simple means the
owner has the greatest rights, privileges and power over the
land in perpetuity. A person can also have a life estate in the
land. The person with a life estate owns the land for the
duration of their life. However, the life tenant must take care to
not spoil or waste the interests of people that have a future
interest in the land.
One does not have to own land in order to have an interest in
the land. One nonposessory interest, an easement, allows a
person to use land without taking anything from it. For
example, a land owner may allow a neighbor to have an
easement to cross the land owner’s property to reach the road.
A license is similar to an easement except that it is revocable
by the property owner.
Of course, land can also be transferred. The instrument of a
transfer of ownership is a deed. To make an effective
conveyance of property, the deed must contain the names of the
grantor and grantee (the person giving and receiving the land
respectively), words evidencing intent to convey, a legally
sufficient description of the land, the grantor’s signature, and
delivery. Most often deeds are exchanged for money. And the
purchaser of land will likely desire some assurance that the
grantor has valid title in the land to convey. Thus, most buyers
of land require a warranty deed. These deeds contain several
covenants that protect the buyer of land from defects in title.
For example, the covenant of quiet enjoyment provides that the
buyer will not be disturbed in his possession of land. This
means that the buyer is warranting the seller that no one will

4. come around later claiming that he or she actually owns the
land. In some situations, a quitclaim deed may be given. These
deeds contain no warranties. It merely passes whatever interest
that grantor has to the grantee. These are often involved in gifts
of land or in inheritance situations.
Adverse possession is another way that ownership of land may
be changed. This method does not require a deed. It occurs
where possession of the land is:
1. Actual and exclusive- This means that the one seeking to gain
land through adverse possession must actually possess the land.
And the adverse possessor must do so exclusively.
2. Open, visible and notorious—This requirement protects
owners of the land by requiring the adverse possessor to make
their presence on the land knowable. Ordinarily, this requires
the adverse possessor to use the land in a manner that it is
customarily used.
3. Continuous and peaceable for the requisite time—This
requires a certain continuity. The amount of time differs from
state to state. It is anywhere from 5-20 years ordinarily, and this
time is set by statute.
4. Hostile and adverse—The hostility requirement requires the
adverse possessor’s interest to be inconsistent with the owner’s
interest. In practice, this means that the owner has not given the
one claiming adverse possession permission to be on the land
(as in the case of a tenant/landlord situation).
This doctrine is important to provide security to people that buy
land from the adverse possession. The ownership of land may be
disputed, but if the adverse possessor meets the requirements, a
potential buyer will know that they can acquire title from the
adverse possessor.
https://content.grantham.edu/at/BA260/2014/w4-vid-lec/w4-vid-
lec.mp4