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Glossary of Legal Terms – D
Earnest money: Usually a nominal sum of money paid by a buyer to a seller to show the buyer’s intention to carry out his or her part of the contract.
Easement: Right to use ,for another purpose, a burden of land, such as a right of way.
Ejectment: A legal remedy to recover possession of land.
Embezzlement: Criminal misappropriation of goods or money by a person, partner or servant entrusted with such money or goods.
Emblements: The profits from a growing crop.
Empanel: To enter jury members names on an official list.
Encroach: To intrude upon.
Encumber: To charge or mortgage; to create a burden on land such as an easement.,
Encumbrance: A charge, or mortgage; a burden on land, such as an easement which reduces the real estate value or hinders its sale.
Equitable distribution: The division of propert in a fair manner i.e in the case of a divorce where only one persons name appears on the deeds.
Equity: Property value after liabilities and encumbrances have been deducted. A fairness based decision.
Escrow: A signed sealed delivered deed which is held by a third party until certain contractual conditions have been performed.
Estate: All that a person owns or has an interest in financially. An interest in land.
Estoppel: Where a person, by conduct or words, leads another person to reasonably believe that something is so, that person will be precluded from denying that it is so. A rule of evidence where a person cannot change an earlier statement.
Et seq: And those following.
Evict: To force a trespasser, licensee or tenant to move out and give up there occupancy of land.
Evidentiary: Having the quality of proof or evidence
Ex gratia: Without legal obligation.
Ex parte: An application to a court made in the absence of the other party.
Ex post facto: Retrospectively.
Excise: A tax on the manufacture of goods.
Exclusive Occupancy: The right of one corporationor person to be the sole user of real estate.
Execute: To complete. To carry out, perform.
Executed: Completed. Carried out, performed.
Executor: A male person appointed by someone else to wind up business affairs after death. The archaic female form is executrix.
Executory: Yet to be carried out or performed.
Exemplary damages: Award which is exceeds the actual loss to the injured party which is given in tort in a lawsuit.
Ex-nuptual: A child born to parents who are not married.
Ex-parte order: An order made by the court on behalf of one party without hearing and/or prior notification to the other party involved.
Ex-post facto: meaning retrospectively, after the fact or subsequently.
Express: Direct, written or spoken.
Expunge: To totally destroy or erase something.
Extortion: Crime of taking money by threat, force or misuse of authority.
Extradition: To surrender an alleged criminal by one country/state/territory to another country/state/territory where the criminal activities allegedly took place.
