For income and capital gains tax purposes, the value that is used to determine profit or loss when property is sold. Often the basis is what you paid for the pr... (more...)

For income and capital gains tax purposes, the value that is used to determine profit or loss when property is sold. Often the basis is what you paid for the property, 'adjusted' to reflect improvements made or damage incurred while you own the property. See stepped-up basis, carryover basis.

EASEMENT BY PRESCRIPTION

A right to use property, acquired by a long tradition of open and obvious use. For example, if hikers have been using a trail through your backyard for ten year... (more...)

A right to use property, acquired by a long tradition of open and obvious use. For example, if hikers have been using a trail through your backyard for ten years and you've never complained, they probably have an easement by prescription through your yard to the trail.

ESTATE

Generally, all the property you own when you die.

BORDER PATROL

The historical term for what is now called the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection ('BCBP'), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. The primary fu... (more...)

The historical term for what is now called the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection ('BCBP'), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. The primary functions of the BCBP/border patrol are to guard the borders from illegal entrants and to meet and question immigrants and visitors arriving at airports and other border stops.

REFUGEE

In the context of U.S. immigration law, people who have been allowed to live in the United States indefinitely to protect them from persecution in their home co... (more...)

In the context of U.S. immigration law, people who have been allowed to live in the United States indefinitely to protect them from persecution in their home countries. Refugees get their status before coming to the U.S., while asylum seekers obtain their status after arrival. Refugees may eventually get green cards.

QUITCLAIM DEED

A deed that transfers whatever ownership interest the transferor has in a particular property. The deed does not guarantee anything about what is being transfer... (more...)

A deed that transfers whatever ownership interest the transferor has in a particular property. The deed does not guarantee anything about what is being transferred, however. For example, a divorcing husband may quitclaim his interest in certain real estate to his ex-wife, officially giving up any legal interest in the property. Compare grant deed.

JUS COGENS

Principles of international law so fundamental that no nation may ignore them or attempt to contract out of them through treaties. For example, genocide and par... (more...)

Principles of international law so fundamental that no nation may ignore them or attempt to contract out of them through treaties. For example, genocide and participating in a slave trade are thought to be jus cogens.

ASYLUM

A legal status granted to an individual who is in the United States and fears political persecution if he or she is forced to return to their home country.

FAIR HOUSING ACT & FAIR HOUSING AMENDMENTS ACT

Federal laws that prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of race or color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability. The federal Acts... (more...)

Federal laws that prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of race or color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability. The federal Acts apply to all aspects of the landlord/tenant relationship, from refusing to rent to members of certain groups to providing different services during tenancy.

SAMPLE LEGAL CASES

Bjorklund v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Norwell

Prospect Street is winding with elevation changes. To the north of the plaintiffs' property are nine homes containing an average of 2,638 square feet of living area, all located on lots that are at least one acre. To the south of the property are fourteen homes containing an average of ...

Kitras v. Zoning Administrator of Aquinnah

1. Background. On March 29, 1999, the town's planning board nominated the entire town as a DCPC. See St. 1977, c. 831, Â§ 8. The commission voted on April 22, 1999, to accept this nomination for consideration. [8] See id. On June 17, 1999, the commission designated the entire ...

Elles v. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS OF QUINCY

As a general rule, an aggrieved litigant cannot as a matter of 674 right pursue an immediate appeal from an interlocutory order unless a statute or rule authorizes it. Maddocks v. Ricker, 403 Mass. 592, 597 (1988), and cases cited. One narrow exception to this principle is where ...

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