Simple English definitions for legal terms
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A land patent is a legal document issued by the government that grants a private person the right to own and use a piece of public land. It is a type of public grant. The corners of the land are staked, but the boundary lines may not be run out at the time of the grant. There are different types of land patents, including:
Examples of land patents include the Homestead Act of 1862, which granted land to settlers who agreed to live on and improve the land for at least five years, and the Railroad Land Grants, which gave land to railroad companies to encourage the construction of railroads.