Covenant to Stand Seised Law and Legal Definition
Covenant to stand seised refers to a covenant to convey a land to a family member. A covenant to stand seised, operates without any transmutation of possession. Where a deed is made in consideration of a sum of money, it will not operate as a covenant to stand seised. The principle of covenant to stand seised states that a person may convey his/her land by a covenant to stand seised thereof to the use of another. It is used either for certain good considerations, or for a valuable consideration.
A covenant to stand seised is a peculiar species of conveyance, confined entirely to family connections, and founded on the tender considerations of blood or marriage. No other use can be raised for any purpose, in favor of a person not within the influence of that consideration. A covenant to stand seised should hold no cold, selfish, calculating motive to contaminate the contract, nor is the conveyance to be profaned by the footstep of a stranger.[Trafton v. Hawes, 102 Mass. 533 (Mass. 1869)].
