personal property

Temporary or movable property.

A type of property which, in it's most general definition, can include any asset other than real estate. The distinguishing factor between personal property and real estate is that personal property is movable. That is, the asset is not fixed permanently to one location as with real property such as land or buildings. Examples of personal property include vehicles, furniture, boats, collectibles, etc.

Also known as "movable property", "movables" and "chattels".

Investopedia Says:
It's tough to have a precise definition for "personal property" as it is very much a legal term. The concept is perhaps best understood with a comparision to real property. Under common law systems it is possible to place a mortgage upon real property. Because the lender has rights to the property it makes the extension of credit relatively safe and easy. After all, it's tough to flee the country with your house. On the other hand, it's tougher for a creditor to secure personal property. While common law systems do allow liens to be placed on personal property (such as vehicles) to protect the rights of creditors, there is obviously much more risk that the debtor simply drives away with the collateral if fleeing the country.

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Things movable, as distinguished from Real Property, or things attached to the realty; also called personalty. Gains on the sale of personal property used in a Trade or Business are generally taxed under Section 1231 as though they were Capital Gains except for Depreciation Recapture Ordinary Income. Section 1231 losses are Ordinary Losses. Personal property used in a trade or business may qualify for Investment Tax Credit or a rapid write-off in the year of purchase, on $19,000 in 1999, with scheduled increases.

Same as Personalty.

noun

One's portable property: belonging (often used in plural), effect (used in plural), good (used in plural), lares and penates, personal effects, possession (used in plural), property, thing (often used in plural). Informal stuff. Law chattel, movable (often used in plural). See owned/unowned.

Movables and other property not classified as real property.

Everything that is the subject of ownership that does not come under the denomination of real property; any right or interest that an individual has in movable things.

Personal property can be divided into two major categories: (1) corporeal personal property, including such items as animals, merchandise, and jewelry; and (2) incorporeal personal property, comprised of such rights as stocks, bonds, patents, and copyrights.

Possession

Possession is a property interest under which an individual is able to exercise power over something to the exclusion of all others. It is a basic property right that entitles the possessor to (1) the right to continue peaceful possession against everyone except someone having a superior right; (2) the right to recover a chattel that has been wrongfully taken; and (3) the right to recover damages against wrongdoers.

In order to constitute possession, there must be a degree of actual control over the object, coupled with the intent to possess and exclude others.

The law recognizes two basic types of possession: actual and constructive.

Actual possession exists when an individual knowingly has direct physical control over an object at a given time. For example, an individual wearing a particular piece of valuable jewelry has actual possession of it. Constructive possession is the power and intent of an individual to control a particular item, even though it is not physically in that person's control. For example, an individual who has the key to a bank safe deposit box, which contains a valuable piece of jewelry that she owns, is said to be in constructive possession of the jewelry.

Possession of Animals

Animals ferae naturae, or wild animals, are those that cannot be completely domesticated. A degree of force or skill is necessary to maintain control over them. Gaining possession is a means of obtaining title to, or ownership of, wild animals.

Generally an owner of land has the right to capture or kill a wild animal on her property and upon doing so, the animal is regarded as belonging to that individual because she owns the soil. The traditional legal principle has been that one who tames a wild animal is regarded as its owner provided it appears to exhibit animus revertendi, or the intent to return to the owner's domicile. Conversely when a captured wild animal escapes and returns to its natural habitat without any apparent intent to return to the captor's domicile, the captor forfeits all personal property right and the animal may be captured by anyone.

Lost, Mislaid, and Abandoned Property

Personal property is considered to be lost if the owner has involuntarily parted with it and is ignorant of its location. Mislaid property is that which an owner intentionally places somewhere with the idea that he will eventually be able to find it again but subsequently forgets where it has been placed. Abandoned property is that to which the owner has intentionally relinquished all rights.

Lost or mislaid property continues to be owned by the person who lost or mislaid it. When finding lost goods, the finder is entitled to possession against everyone with the exception of the true owner.

The finder of lost articles on land belonging to someone else is entitled to possession against everyone but the true owner, unless the finder is guilty of trespass. The finder of misplaced goods has no right to their possession. The owner of the place where an article is mislaid has a right to the article against everyone but the true owner. Abandoned property can be possessed and owned by the first person who exercises dominion over it with an intent to claim it as his or her own. In any event, between the finder of a lost, mislaid, or abandoned article and the owner of the place where it is found, the law applies to whatever rule will most likely result in the return of the article to its rightful owner.

Ordinarily when articles are found by an employee during and within the scope of his employment, they are awarded to the employer rather than to the employee-finder.

Treasure trove is any gold or silver in coin, plate, or bullion that is hidden by an unknown owner in the earth or other private place for an extended period. The property is not considered treasure trove unless the identity of the owner cannot be ascertained. Under early common law, the finder of a treasure trove took title to it against everyone but the true owner. This doctrine was altered in England by a statute granting title to the crown subject to the claims of the true owner. The U.S. law governing treasure trove has, for the most part, been merged into the law governing lost property. However, certain cases have held that the old treasure trove law has not been combined into the lost property statutes. In some instances, the early common law of England has been held to apply in the absence of a statute governing treasure trove. Regardless of which principles are applied, however, in the absence of contrary statutory provision, the title to treasure trove belongs to the finder against all others with the exception of the true owner. If there is a controversy as to ownership between the true owner and the state, the owner is entitled to treasure trove.

Confusion and Accession

Confusion and accession govern the acquisition of, or loss of title to, personal property by virtue of its being blended with, altered by, improved by, or commingled with the property of others. In confusion, the personal property of several different owners is commingled so that it cannot be separated and returned to its rightful owners, but the property retains its original characteristics. Any fungible (interchangeable) goods can be the subject of confusion.

In accession, the personal property of one owner is physically integrated with the property of another so that it becomes a constituent part of it, losing any separate identity. Accession can make the personal property of one owner become a substantially more valuable chattel as a result of the work of another person. This occurs when the personal property becomes an entirely new chattel, such as when grapes are made into wine or timber is made into furniture.

Subject to the doctrine of accession, personal property can become real property through its transformation into a fixture. A fixture is a movable item that was originally personalty (personal property) but which has become attached to, and associated with, the land and is, therefore, considered a part of the real property.

Bailments

A bailment is the rightful, temporary possession of goods by an individual other than the true owner. The individual who entrusts his property into the hands of another is called the bailor; the person who holds such property is the bailee. Ordinarily a bailment is effected for a designated purpose upon which the parties have agreed.

The word bailment is derived from the French term bailler, "to deliver." It is ordinarily regarded as a contractual relationship since the bailor and bailee — either expressly or implicitly — bind themselves to act according to specific terms. The bailee receives only control or possession of the property, and the bailor retains the ownership interests therein. While a bailment exists, the bailee has an interest in the property that is superior to all others, including the bailor, unless she violates some term of the agreement. When the purpose for which the property has been delivered has been accomplished, the property will be returned to the bailor or otherwise disposed of, according to his instructions.

A bailment differs from a sale, which is an intentional transfer of ownership of personal property in exchange for something of value, because a bailment involves only a transfer of possession or custody not of ownership.

Gifts

A gift is a voluntary transfer of personalty from one individual to another without compensation or consideration or the exchange of something of value. There are two main categories of gifts: inter vivos gifts and causa mortis gifts.

A gift inter vivos is a voluntary, unconditional transfer of property between two living persons without consideration.

A gift causa mortis is one that is made by a donor in anticipation of imminent death.

The three requirements of a valid gift are delivery, donative intent, and acceptance.

Bona Fide Purchasers

A basic common-law principle is that an individual cannot pass a better title than she has, and a buyer can acquire no better title than that of the seller. A thief does not have title in stolen goods, so a person who purchases from the thief does not acquire title.

A bona fide purchaser is an individual who has bought property for value with no notice of any defects in the seller's title. If a seller indicates to a buyer that she has ownership or the authority to sell a particular item, the seller is prevented (estopped) from denying such representations if the buyer resells the property to a bona fide purchaser for value without notice of the true owner's rights. At common law, such an estoppel did not apply when an owner brought an item for services or repairs to a dealer in that type of goods and the dealer wrongfully sold the chattel. The bona fide purchaser, however, is now protected under such circumstances by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).

A buyer who induces a sale through fraudulent representations acquires a voidable title from the seller. A voidable title is that which may be vacated by the seller, upon discovery of the buyer's fraud, at his option. The seller has the authority to transfer a good title to a bona fide purchaser for value without notice of the outstanding equity. The voidable title rule is only applicable in situations where the owner is induced to part with title, not merely with possession, as a result of fraud or deception. Though better known for challenging injustices in British-ruled India, Mohandas Gandhi spent many years working for the rights of Indian residents of South Africa. Martin Luther King, Jr., at a civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963, the day he delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech. He would use the phrase in other speeches throughout that summer.

Furniture, automobiles, boats, and other possessions that are not included in the category of real property.

(DOD) Property of any kind or any interest therein, except real property, records of the Federal Government, and naval vessels of the following categories: surface combatants, support ships, and submarines.

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

For other uses, see Personal property (disambiguation).

Property law

Part of the common law series

Acquisition

Gift · Adverse possession · Deed Conquest · Discovery · Treasure Trove Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property Alienation · Bailment · License

Estates in land

Allodial title · Fee simple · Fee tail Life estate · Defeasible estate Future interest · Concurrent estate Leasehold estate · Condominiums

Conveyancing

Bona fide purchaser Torrens title · Strata title Estoppel by deed · Quitclaim deed Mortgage · Equitable conversion Action to quiet title · Escheat

Future use control

Restraint on alienation Rule against perpetuities Rule in Shelley's Case Doctrine of worthier title

Nonpossessory interest

Easement · Profit Covenant running with the land Equitable servitude

Related topics

Fixtures · Waste · Partition Riparian water rights Lateral and subjacent support Assignment · Nemo dat Property and conflict of laws

Other common law areas

Contract law · Tort law Wills, trusts and estates Criminal law · Evidence

v • d • e

Personal property is a type of property. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. It is distinguished from real property, or real estate. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any property that can be moved from one location to another. This term is in distinction with immovable property or immovables, such as land and buildings.

Personal property may be classified in a variety of ways. Tangible personal property refers to any type of property that can generally be moved (i.e., it is not attached to real property or land), touched or felt. These generally include items such as furniture, clothing, jewelry, art, writings, or household goods. In some cases, there can be formal title documents that show the ownership and transfer rights of that property after a person's death (for example, motor vehicles, boats, etc.) In many cases, however, tangible personal property will not be "titled" in an owner's name and is presumed to be whatever property he or she was in possession of at the time of his or her death.

Intangible personal property or "intangibles" refers to personal property that cannot be actually "moved" touched or felt, but instead represents something of value such as negotiable instruments, securities, goods, and intangible assets including chose in action.

Accountants also distinguish personal property from real property because personal property can be depreciated faster than improvements (while land is not depreciable at all). It is an owner's right to get tax benefits for chattel, and there are businesses that specialize in appraising personal property, or chattel.

The distinction between these types of property is significant for a variety of reasons. Usually one's rights on movables are more attenuated than one's rights on immovables (or real property). The statutes of limitations or prescriptive periods are usually shorter when dealing with personal or movable property. Real property rights are usually enforceable for a much longer period of time and in most jurisdictions real estate and immovables are registered in government-sanctioned land registers. In some jurisdictions, rights (such as a lien or other security interest) can be registered against personal or movable property.

In the common law it is possible to place a mortgage upon real property. Such mortgage requires payment or the owner of the mortgage can seek foreclosure. Personal property can often be secured with similar kind of device, variously called a chattel mortgage, trust receipt, or security interest. In the United States, Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code governs the creation and enforcement of security interests in most (but not all) types of personal property.

There is no similar institution to the mortgage in the civil law, however a hypothec is a device to secure real rights against property. These real rights follow the property along with the ownership. In the common law a lien also remains on the property and it is not extinguished by alienation of the property; liens may be real or equitable.

Many jurisdictions levy a personal property tax, an annual tax on the privilege of owning or possessing personal property within the boundaries of the jurisdiction. Automobile and boat registration fees are a subset of this tax. Most household goods are exempt as long as they are kept or used within the household; the tax usually becomes a problem when the taxing authority discovers that expensive personal property like art is being regularly stored outside of the household.

The distinction between tangible and intangible personal property is also significant in some of the jurisdictions which impose sales taxes. In Canada, for example, provincial and federal sales taxes were imposed primarily on sales of tangible personal property whereas sales of intangibles tended to be exempt. The move to value added taxes, under which almost all transactions are taxable, has diminished the significance of the distinction.

Personal vs Private property

In political/economic theory, notably anarchism, communism and some socialist philosophies, the distinction between private and personal property is extremely important. They are separated by a blurry boundary, which items of property constitute which is open to debate.

• Personal property is part of your person and includes property from which you have the right to exclude others (e.g. TVs, cars, clothes etc.)^[1]

• Private property is a social relationship, not a relationship between person and thing according to Marx (e.g. factories, mines, dams, infrastructure etc.) In capitalism there is no distinction between personal and private property.^[2]

• To many socialists, the term private property refers to capital or the means of production, while personal property refers to consumer and non-capital goods and services.

See also

• Chattel house
• Secured transaction

References

1. ^ 1848: Manifesto of the Communist Party: Chapter 2
2. ^ WS 98 Thinking About Anarchism - Property is Theft

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