Abstract
The Torrens law is perhaps the most advantageous yet most infrequently used method of land conveyancing in the United States. This unique system of land registration is the present terminus in the long and ancient history of land conveyancing. Inthe earliest period of land transfers, the method of proving ownership was by actual occupancy. As society became more complex and the need for some formal ratification of owner- ship increased, the ceremony of livery of seisin became the prevalent method of conveying title to land. Later, as the number of land transfers proliferated, a written instrument detailing the history of a particular parcel of land became the central document involved in the transfer of land ownership. Eventually, the delivery of the written deed of conveyance became the substitute for the ceremonial livery of seisin. Under the modern-day recording acts, all the instruments affecting land ownership are themselves transcribed into official records, thus registering the evidence of title to the land for conveyancing purposes. The Torrens law makes an innovative departure from previous conveyancing practices in that the title to the land itself is registered and not merely the physical evidence of such title (i.e. the deed) or other documents affecting the title.
Recommended Citation
Yes Virginia-There is a Torrens Act,
9
U. Rich. L. Rev.
301
(1975).
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview/vol9/iss2/5