Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 51 – Contracts vs Deeds
Contracts vs Deeds
Transcript:
Hello!
Today we look at the differences between contracts and deeds. These legal documents differ in several essential aspects, including their legal requirements, purpose, and form.
A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties, where each party agrees to perform specific duties or provide benefits to the other parties. Generally, contracts do not require any formalities, and they can be written, oral or by conduct, but the last two will be harder to prove (più difficile da provare).
A deed, on the other hand, transfers ownership of a property or asset from one party to another. Unlike contracts, deeds require specific formalities to be valid, including the signature of the grantor (the party transferring ownership – cedente), the signatures of witnesses, and sometimes a notarization. Please note that a deed does not require the signature of the grantee (cessionario). Deeds can be used to transfer real estate, intellectual property, or other assets. Section1 of the UK Law of Property Act 1989 states that a deed must:
make it clear on its face that it is intended to be a deed;
be validly executed.
To be validly executed it must also be:
Signed;
Witnessed;
Delivered (making it clear in the deed that it is intended to be delivered on the date it is signed by the grantor).
Another difference between contracts and deeds is their level of consideration (più o meno controprestazione; più o meno sinallagma) . Consideration is the benefit one party provides to the other party in exchange for the performance or agreement of the other party. In contracts, consideration can be anything of value, including money, promises, services, or goods. However, deeds do not require consideration because they are used to transfer ownership without any obligations from the grantee.
Contracts and deeds have different legal effects. A contract can be enforced (fatto valere) by law if one party fails to perform their obligations, and it can be used as evidence in court. In contrast, deeds are used to transfer legal title to a property or asset, and they are recorded (registrato) or filed (depositato) in official records to provide proof of ownership.
Contracts are used to formalize agreements between parties, while deeds are used to transfer ownership of assets from one party to another.
Thank you, and see you next time for more Peter’s Pills to improve your legal English.
Read more about the the execution of deeds in the UK here: “Practice guide 8: execution of deeds“.
Legal English – Sommario delle Lezioni
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 51 – Contracts vs Deeds
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 50 – Executive and Non-Executive Directors
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 49 – Transfer of shares vs transmission of shares
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 48 – They, them, their for singular nouns
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 47 – Jointly and severally
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 46 – Invoice words
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 45 – Quotation
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 44 – Gazumping and Gazundering
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 43 – English words that the English do not understand
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 42 – Easement vs Profit à prendre
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 41 -er, -or and -ee names
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 40 – The Objects Clause
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 38 – Default
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 37 – Company Agent
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 36 – Injunction (false freind)
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 35 – Mortgage
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 34 – Freehold, Leasehold and Commonhold estates
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 33 – Transferor, Transferee and Transmittee
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 32 – Tax evasion, tax mitigation and tax avoidance
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 31 – Numbers
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 30 – Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 29 – AGM vs EGM
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 28 – A going concern
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 27 – Collocations: Violate, breach, break, disobey and infringe
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 26 – Company meeting words
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 25 – Mortgagor vs Mortgagee
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 24 – Fixed charges vs Floating charges
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 23 – Doctrine
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 22 – Construe
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 21 – Sign vs Execute
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 20 – The closing statement
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 19 – Writing Business Emails
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 18 – Limited companies
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 17 – Annual Accounts
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 16 – Meetings
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 15 – Attorney-at-law vs Attorney-in-fact
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 14 – Here and there compounds
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 13 – Subject Matter
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 12 – The clear days rule
Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 11 – Shareholder, Member or Holder of shares?
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 10 – Competition Law
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 9 – Lasting Power of Attorney
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 8 – Guardianship
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 7 – Damage vs Damages
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 6 – Legal Doublets
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 5 – Escrow
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 4 – Memorandum of Association vs Articles of Association
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 3 – Sign legibly
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 2 – Deed poll
Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 1 – Party, counterparty and counterpart
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