A grant, in
law, is a transfer of
property, generally from a person or other entity giving the property (the grantor) to a person or entity receiving the property (the grantee).
Historically, a grant was a transfer by
deed
In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...
of that which could not be passed by
livery
A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
, an act evidenced by
letters patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
under the
Great Seal, granting something from the king to a subject, and a technical term made use of in deeds of conveyance of lands to import a transfer.
Though the word "grant" was originally made use of, in treating of conveyances of interests in lands, to denote a transfer by deed of that which could not be passed by livery, and was applied only to
incorporeal hereditaments, it became a generic term, applicable to the transfer of all classes of
real property
In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...
.
As distinguished from a mere
license
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
, a grant passes some estate or interest, corporeal or incorporeal, in the lands which it embraces; can only he made by an instrument in writing, under seal; and is irrevocable, when made, unless an express power of revocation is reserved. A license is a mere authority; passes no estate or interest whatever; may be made by parol; is revocable at will; and, when revoked, the protection which it gave ceases to exist.
[''Black's Law Dictionary'' (1910), p. 547, ''citing'' Jameson v. Millemann, 3 Duer (N. Y.) 255, 258.]
In
legal conveyancing, the grant is the means by which a party conveys title or encumbrance. In
trust law, the grant is the act by which the
settlor creates the trust for the interests of the
trustee. In an
option contract, the right of the optionee to exercise the option is considered a grant on the part of the optionor. In
philanthropy
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
, a donor may provide a
grant of money.
See also
*
Grantor-grantee index
*
Grant (disambiguation)
*
Donor
A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as rep ...
References
{{reflist
Property law