4 Livery of seisin, is the corporeal delivery of the pos session of a thing conveyed, which ceremony is absolutely necessary where a freehold passes at common law ; for if a man die before he has made an entry upon the heredita ments, unfeoffed, his heirs shall not be entitled to enter, but the heir of him last seized ; and this is one reason why a freehold cannot commence in futuro at common law ; for if a freehold be expectant upon a term of years, livery must be given to the remainder-man, who is immediately seized of his freehold at the same time the termor is seized of his term. It is usual to indorse the livery of seisin on the back of the deed, specifying the manner, place, and time of mak ing it, together with the names of the witnesses.
5. Some deeds serve to convey real property, some only to charge or discharge it.
6. Original conveyances are, I. Feoffinents. 2. Gifts.
3. Grants. 4. Leases. 5. Exchanges. 6. Derivative are, 7. Releases. 8. Confirmations. 9. Sur renders. 10 Assignments. 11. Revocations.
7. Feoginent is a conveyance of the actual possession of an hereditament ; therefore it can only be adopted where livery of seisin can be had of the thing conveyed ; so that a person must be in the actual seisin, to pass the seisin to an other.
8. A gift is properly a conveyance of lands in tail, and, when founded upon no valuable consideration, is void to those that were creditors at the time of the donation, but valid as to subsequent ones.
9. .4 grant is the common law conveyance of those things of which no livery can be made ; as of reversions and re mainders, and other incorporeal hereditaments, all of which are said to lie in grant.
10. A lease is the granting possession of any tenement to a person for life, years, or at will. A lease for life, being a freehold, must pass by livery.
11. An exchange, is a mutual grant of equal interests, as an estate of inheritance for an estate of inheritance, a chat tel interest for a chattel interest, Ste.; entry is absolutely necessary to complete the exchange; for if either party i die before entry, it is voidable by his heir; and if both die, it is ipsofacto void.
12. A partition, is the division of an estate held in joint tenancy, in copaicenary, or in common, that each tenant may hold in severalty.
13. ..// release, is the relinquishment of a right or interest in lands CA' tClael12CitD to another «ho has au estate in pos session in the same lands and tenements.
14. .1 confirmation is a conveyance of an estate, or right csse, that one has in or to lands, to another that has the • • thereof, or sonic estate therein, whereby a void able estate is made sttre and unavoidable. It is also ed to be the approbation or assent to an estate already cre ated.
15. A surrender is the yielding up of a less estate by one in possession, to hint who has a greater estate in the same lands ; as the surrendering of a particular estate to the re versioner or remainder-rnan.
16. An assignment is a transfer, or making over to an other of the whole right one has in any estate.
17. .1 revocation is the execution of a power reserved by the grantor to himself, or some other person in a former deed, of calling back the estate.-A defcasance is a collate ral deed made at the time of making some other convey ance, containing certain conditions, by the non-performance of which the estate becomes forfeited.
IS. Conveyances by statute, depend much on the doc trine of uses and trusts, which are a confidence reposed in the tcrre-tenant, or tenant of the land, that he shall dispose of the profits according to the direction of Cestui que use, (i. e. of him to whose use any other man is enfeoffed of lands or tenements,) or Cestui que trust. The statute of uses, having transferred all uses into possession, (or rather hav ing drawn the possession to the use,) has given birth and operation to three other species of conveyance. 1. A co venant to stand seised. 2. A bargain and sale enrolled. 3. A lease and release. A covenant to stand seised to an use is, where a person covenants to stand seised to the use of an other, in consideration of blood or marriage. A bargain and sale differs from the covenant to stand seised, as it roust be in consideration of money, though that consideration be only nominal ; and the use so limited must be to the bar gainee. As a release of lands can only be given to him who has the possession or seisin, it is necessary, where the free hold is to be conveyed to a stranger without the formalities of livery, that an estate for a year or other definite time by made to him, that he may be capable of receiving a re lease.
19. Deeds, which do not convey, but only charge real property, are, 1. Obligations. 2. Recognizances. 3. De feaaances. Obligation, or bond, is a deed containing a pe nalty, with a condition annexed, for payment of money, performance of covenants, and the like ; if without a condi tion, it is called single, (simplex obligatio,) but if there be a condition, and that condition is performed, the bond be comes void. Recognizance is an obligation of record, which a man enters into before some court of record, or magis trate duly authorized, with condition to do some particular act ; as to appear at the assizes, to keep the peace, to pay a debt previously contracted, &c. A Defeasance on a bond or recognizance, is a condition which, when performed, de feats or undoes it, and may be indorsed upon the back of the bond.