- restraint on alienation
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restraint on alienation: something that serves to prevent a party from alienating property; specif: a provision in an instrument (as a deed or will) that purports to prohibit or penalize the use of the power of alienation◇ Though not necessarily unlawful, restraints on alienation are disfavored in the law.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- restraint on alienation
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n.A restriction on an owner’s freedom to sell or give away a piece of property, usually unenforceable.
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
- restraint on alienation
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A provision in a deed or will that attempts to restrict the sale or transfer of the property forever or for an extremely long period of time — for example, selling your house to your daughter with the provision that it never be sold to anyone outside the family. These provisions are usually unenforceable on the grounds that a present owner should not be allowed to tie the hands of future generations. The maximum period of time for limiting transfer is generally "lives in being, plus 21 years." (This is known as the rule against perpetuities.) Restraints on alienation (restrictive covenants) based on race ("only Caucasians may hold title") were declared unconstitutional in 1949.Category: Real Estate & Rental Property
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- restraint on alienation
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n. A restriction on a person's right to transfer or to sell real property, usually contained in a deed, and stating that should the grantee attempt to violate the condition, the land would pass back to the estate of the grantor or to some other party. It may restrict how the person may dispose of the land, prohibiting its being sold to a particular person or group, or of its being sold in a certain way, such as at auction; a trust provision that does the preceding.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- restraint on alienation
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n.an attempt in a deed or will to prevent the sale or other transfer of real property either forever or for an extremely long period of time. Such a restraint on the freedom to transfer property is generally unlawful and therefore void or voidable (can be made void if an owner objects), since a present owner should not be able to tie the hands of future generations to deal with their property. This ban on a restraint on alienation (transfer) is called "the rule against perpetuities." Examples: Oliver Oldtimer sells his ranch to his son with the condition that title may never be transferred to anyone outside of the family. Martha Oldtimer in her will gives her home to her daughter Jacqueline on condition that "Jacqueline's descendants must never sell the place." However, one is generally allowed to limit transfer to a maximum period calculated by "lives in being, plus 21 years." Restraints on alienation (so-called restrictive covenants) based on race ("only Caucasians may hold title") were declared unconstitutional in 1949.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.