Consider the Consideration

The consideration on a land record is what changed hands in order to pay for the real estate being transferred. If the consideration is “love and affection,” “natural love,” or a token money amount, try and determine what relationship existed between the grantors and the grantees.

Land records with token amounts are frequently used to transfer land between family members, but not always. The challenge for the researcher is that these records don’t specify the relationship.

After all, everyone alive at the time already knew what those relationships were.

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