| | Doctrine of worthier title - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
 | | In the common law of England, the doctrine of worthier title was a legal doctrine that preferred taking title to real estate by descent over taking title by devise or by purchase. |
 | | The doctrine of worthier title, like the Rule in Shelley's Case, had its origin in attempts by royal courts to avoid various devices contrived by lawyers during the era of feudalism to retain lands in their families while avoiding feudal duties, and to secure its free alienability. |
 | | The creation of family settlements designed to preserve land within the family, transfer it without feudal duties due to the lords of the fee upon transfer at death, and preserve it from claims of creditors, occupied the ingenuity of many common lawyers during the late Middle Ages. |
| en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Doctrine_of_worthier_title (999 words) |