Simple English definitions for legal terms
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A notice-race statute is a law that says the person who records their claim first, without knowing about any other unrecorded claims, gets priority. This means that if two people claim the same thing, the one who records their claim first will be considered the rightful owner. About half of the states in the US have this type of law. It is also called a race-notice act or notice-race statute. It is different from a race statute or notice statute.
A notice-race statute is a type of recording law that determines who has priority in a property dispute. It states that the person who records their claim first, without knowledge of any prior unrecorded claims, has priority over others. This means that if two people claim ownership of the same property, the person who recorded their claim first will be considered the rightful owner.
For example, let's say that John and Jane both claim ownership of a piece of land. John recorded his claim with the county recorder's office first, but he had no knowledge of Jane's claim. Jane later recorded her claim, but since John recorded his claim first without knowledge of Jane's claim, he would be considered the rightful owner under a notice-race statute.
About half of the states in the United States have notice-race statutes in place to determine property ownership disputes. This type of statute is also known as a race-notice act or a notice-race statute.