Deed

== Requirements ==
At [[common law]], to be valid and enforceable, a deed must meet several requirements:
* It must state on its face that it is a deed, using wording like "This Deed..." or "executed as a deed".
* It must indicate that the instrument itself conveys some privilege or thing to someone.
* The [[grantor]] must have the legal ability to grant the thing or privilege, and the [[grantee]] must have the legal capacity to receive it.
* It must be executed by the grantor in presence of the prescribed number of witnesses, known as instrumentary witnesses (this is known as being '''in solemn form''').
* In some jurisdictions, a [[seal (device)|seal]] must be affixed to it. Originally, affixing seals made persons parties to the deed and signatures optional, but seals are now outdated in most jurisdictions, so the signatures of the grantor and witnesses are primary.
* It must be delivered to ('''delivery''') and, in some jurisdictions, accepted by the grantee ('''acceptance''').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5057&context=fss_papers |title=Delivery and Acceptance of Deeds |first=Henry Wade |last=Rogers |date=1 January 1881 |publisher=[[Yale University]] |access-date=1 January 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218013158/http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5057&context=fss_papers |archive-date=18 December 2015 }}</ref>

Under the [[law of England and Wales]], a deed may be delivered or otherwise handled in one of three ways:
*it may be delivered as an unconditional deed,
*it may be delivered as a deed in [[escrow]], or
*it may be handed to an agent who has instructions to deal with it in a certain manner.<ref name=stirrup>Stirrup, C., [https://hsfnotes.com/litigation/2011/02/16/important-lessons-for-settlement-deeds/ Important lessons for settlement deeds], published 16 February 2011, accessed 16 August 2023</ref>

Deeds delivered unconditionally are irrevocable.<ref name=stirrup />

Section 46(2) of the UK's [[Companies Act 2006]] states that a document executed as a deed by a company is presumed to be delivered upon execution, but this presumption can be rebutted if a contrary intention is proved.<ref>UK Legislation, [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/46 Companies Act 2006, section 46], accessed 16 August 2023</ref>

Conditions attached to the acceptance of a deed are known as [[Covenant (law)|covenants]]. A '''deed indented''' or '''indenture'''<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Deed |volume=7 |page=921}}</ref> is one executed in two or more parts according to the number of parties, which were formerly separated by cutting in a curved or indented line known as the chirograph.<ref>{{cite book|first=Frederic Jesup|last=Stimpson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4C8WAAAAYAAJ|title=Glossary of Technical Terms, Phrases, and Maxims of the Common Law|section=Deed|location=Boston|publisher=[[Little, Brown and Co.]]|year=1881|page=108|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124154135/http://books.google.com/books?id=4C8WAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover|archive-date=2013-01-24}}</ref> A '''[[deed poll]]''' is one executed in one part, by one party, having the edge polled or cut even, and includes simple grants and appointments.