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estoppel by deed

Estoppel by deed is a doctrine that precludes individuals from arguing in court a position counter to what that person stated in a previous deed . The doctrine arises most frequently where someone deeded property they did not own, and later, they are involved in a dispute involving that property. For example, John sells to Parker fifty acres of land behind John’s house for $200,000. John actually owned only 30 acres of the property, and there is another true owner of the other 20 acres. So, Parker would only have legal ownership of the 30 acres of land John owned. Estoppel by deed would prevent John from arguing in court that Parker did not own the other 20 acres in any legal dispute because, while true, John purportedly sold the property to Parker. 

[Last reviewed in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team
]

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• land use & zoning law

• property & real estate law

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