Legal Definitions - paramount title

A paramount title is a type of title that has a higher priority over another title in a legal action or dispute. It means that if two parties have conflicting titles to a property, the one with the paramount title would have the legal right to the property.

For example, if John sells his house to Jane, but there is a previous mortgage on the property that John did not disclose, the mortgage company would have a paramount title over Jane's title. This means that the mortgage company would have the legal right to foreclose on the property, even though Jane is the current owner.

Another example would be if a person inherits a property from their parents, but there is a dispute over the will. If the court determines that the person's siblings have a valid claim to the property, their claim would have a paramount title over the person's inherited title.

In both examples, the paramount title is the one that has the legal right to the property, even though there may be other titles in existence.