Servient estate is a parcel of land that is subject to an easement and benefits another parcel of land. An easement is a privilege or right that the owner of one parcel of real property (called a dominant estate or dominant tenement) has...
land use & zoning law
setback
Setback means the areas, measured from the property line to any structure, within which building is prohibited, but which may include driveway areas or other similar surface improvements. In other words, it is the distance a building must be...
spot zoning
Spot zoning refers to when a piece of property or groups of property have special zoning laws applied to them that differ from the zoning laws surrounding them. The practice of spot zoning can be very controversial and may be illegal. Some...
structure
In a non-legal context, a structure is an artificial construction built over a piece of land, like a shed, a house, or a building.
In a legal context, structure refers to the deliberate organization of legal elements, such...
summary probate
Summary probate is a simplified probate proceeding to administer the distribution of certain estates. Most states have provisions for summary probate proceedings. Generally, estates under a certain dollar amount and without a personal...
take
Take means to gain or obtain possession. Some common uses of the term “take” in a legal sense include:
In the context of property, it means getting the title to real property. In the context of criminal law, stealing is an unlawful...taking
Overview
The power of the government through the use of eminent domain, to take private property and convert it into public use, is referred to as a taking. The Fifth Amendment provides that the government may only exercise this power if...
takings
Overview
A taking is when the government seizes private property for public use.
A taking can come in two forms. The taking may be physical, which means that the government literally takes the property from its owner). Or the taking may be...
tenement
Tenement most often is used to refer to property involved in an easement. The property benefiting from the easement is called the dominant tenement, and the property granting the easement is called the servient tenement.
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variance
1) An officially granted exception to a zoning ordinance. Such exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for some persuasive reason shown.
2) A difference between two statements or other pieces of evidence that usually would be...