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In law, possession is the control a person intentionally exercises toward a thing. Like ownership, the possession of anything is commonly regulated under the property law of a jurisdiction. In all cases, to possess something, a person must have an intention to possess it as well as access to it and control over it.
Vacant possession refers to the typical condition in which a seller must hand over a property to a buyer upon completion, or a tenant must return the property to a landlord at the end of a lease. In simple terms, it means that the rightful person, such as a buyer or a landlord, can peacefully and fully utilize the property.
The right of possession is a right of a person who currently holds property in hand or under their control to retain such possession, or alternatively for another person who claims superior title or right to possession of the property.
Possession is nine-tenths of the law" is an expression meaning that ownership is easier to maintain if one has possession of something, or difficult to enforce if one does not. The expression is also stated as "possession is ten points of the law", which is credited as derived from the Scottish expression "possession is eleven points in the law ...
Abandoned property generally becomes the property of whoever should find it and take possession of it first, although some states have enacted statutes under which certain kinds of abandoned property – usually cars, wrecked ships and wrecked aircraft – escheat, meaning that they become the property of the state. [11]
Adverse possession in common law, and the related civil law concept of usucaption (also acquisitive prescription or prescriptive acquisition), are legal mechanisms under which a person who does not have legal title to a piece of property, usually real property, may acquire legal ownership based on continuous possession or occupation without the permission of its legal owner.
A good title consists of the combination of these three (possession, right of possession, and right of property) in the same person(s). The extinguishing of ancient, forgotten, or unasserted claims, such as E's in the example above, was the original purpose of statutes of limitations. Otherwise, title to property would always be uncertain.
Wilson states that: “Property is the right or lawful power, which a person has to a thing.” He then divides the right into three degrees: possession, the lowest; possession and use; and, possession, use, and disposition – the highest. Further, he states: “Useful and skillful industry is the soul of an active life.