Legal Definitions - lease and release

Definition: Lease and release is a historical method of transferring ownership of a property without physically handing over the property. It involves the owner and the buyer entering into a lease agreement for a certain period of time. Once the buyer takes possession of the property, the owner releases all interest in the property to the buyer through a written document. This process was considered valid by the courts because the buyer was already occupying the property.

Example: John wants to sell his house to Jane. They enter into a lease agreement for a year, and once the year is up, John releases all interest in the property to Jane. This means that Jane now owns the property outright.

Explanation: In this example, John and Jane use the lease and release method to transfer ownership of the property. They enter into a lease agreement for a year, which means that Jane can occupy the property for that period of time. Once the year is up, John releases all interest in the property to Jane, which means that she now owns the property outright. This method was considered valid by the courts because Jane was already occupying the property.