abandonment,
in Anglo-American
property law, the relinquishment
of possession of property with an intent to terminate all ownership
interests in that property. Abandonment may occur by throwing
away the property, by losing it and making no attempt to retrieve
it, by vacating the property with no intention of returning
to it, or by any other act manifesting a complete disclaimer
of ownership in the property. The general effect of abandonment
is to give full ownership of the property to the first taker.
In the French and civil-law systems, the term abandonment is
more technical and means the surrender by a debtor of his property
to be used in satisfaction of claims by his creditors.
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Related Propaedia Topics:
Methods of acquiring property rights