Good Title Law and Legal Definition
Good title is a title that is legally valid or effective. It is a valid and a marketable title. Not merely a title which is valid in fact, but a marketable title which can again be sold to a reasonable purchaser, or mortagaged to a person of reasonable prudence as security for the loan of money. [Moore v Williams, 115 NY 586, 22 NE 233]. A good title is free from litigation, palpable defects, and grave doubts, and fairly deducible of record.
For a valid transaction to take place, the previous owner must have an indefeasible title to the property and must transfer it to the new owner.
The following is an example of a case law defining the term:
Good title to the land means marketable title, that is, a title which a reasonably prudent person would buy free of encumbrances and free of restrictions and conditions. [Friedman v. Decatur Corp., 135 F.2d 812, 815 (D.C. Cir. 1943)].
