Legal Definitions - patent ambiguity

Definition: Patent ambiguity refers to a situation where a term or phrase in a legal document is unclear or ambiguous on its face, meaning that it is unclear to anyone who reads it. This type of ambiguity is different from latent ambiguity, which occurs when a term or phrase appears clear on its face but becomes ambiguous when applied to a specific situation.

Example: A will states that the testator leaves his "car" to his son. However, the testator owned two cars at the time of his death. This creates a patent ambiguity because it is unclear which car the son is entitled to receive.

Explanation: In this example, the term "car" is unclear on its face because the testator owned two cars. It is unclear which car the son is entitled to receive based on the language of the will alone. This is a patent ambiguity because the ambiguity is apparent from the language of the will itself.