Legal Definitions - Fine and Recovery Act

The Fine and Recovery Act was a law passed in England in 1833. Its purpose was to eliminate the use of fines as a way of transferring ownership of land.

Before this law was passed, it was common for people to use fines to transfer ownership of land. A fine was a type of legal agreement that involved a payment of money. The person paying the fine would receive ownership of the land in return.

The Fine and Recovery Act made it illegal to use fines in this way. Instead, people had to use other methods to transfer ownership of land, such as deeds or wills.

For example, let's say that John wanted to transfer ownership of his land to his son, Tom. Before the Fine and Recovery Act, John could have used a fine to do this. He would have paid a sum of money to Tom, and Tom would have become the new owner of the land. But after the law was passed, John would have to use a different method, such as a deed, to transfer ownership to Tom.