INTRODUCTION
A Backward Look
Under the early English common law, ownership of real property was transferred by a technique called
“feoffment.” This involved delivery of possession, which was termed “livery of seizin.” No writing or deed was
involved. The transfer was actually effected by a delivery of the land itself or something symbolical of the land,
such as a twig, a stone, or a handful of dirt.
Another early method of transfer was by a statement usually made before witnesses in view of the land to the
effect that possession was transferred, followed by entry of the new owner. Again, no written instrument was at
first required. An interest in land which was not capable of actual possession (termed an incorporeal right),
such as an easement, was transferred by a deed called a “deed of grant.”
A “conveyance by a release” was a deed given to transfer an estate or interest in land, but no “livery of seizin”
could be given until the new owner took possession, which involved a multiplicity of formalities. A release was
also used for the purpose of extinguishing a right in the land and corresponds to its modern descendant, the
quitclaim deed.
A recording system was unknown to the early common law. Ownership was a matter of common knowledge
and transfer was not often made except by descent from father to son on the father’s death.
The method of making land transfers in California under Spanish and Mexican rule was somewhat similar to
that of the common law. It was early held by the Supreme Court of California that land could not be conveyed
under Spanish and Mexican laws without an instrument in writing, unless conveyance of the land was made by
an executed contract in which actual possession was delivered at the time of sale by entry upon the premises
and the doing of certain ceremonial acts (which in a sense were like “livery of seizin” at common law). The
ancient “livery of seizin” is symbolized today by the delivery of the deed, not the property, by the grantor to the
grantee. The deed is the now the symbol of title.
The Pattern Today
Today, Californians most often transfer title to real property by a simple written instrument, the grant deed. The
word “grant” is expressly designated by statute as a word of conveyance. (Civil Code Section 1092) A second
form of deed is the quitclaim deed. It resembles the common law “conveyance by a release.” Other types of
deeds are the warranty deed, the trust deed, the reconveyance deed, the sheriff’s deed, and the gift deed.