Also known as: abalienate · abalienates · abalienated · abalienating · alienation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A conveyance of title to or an interest in property. In civil law the term denotes a perfect conveyance from one citizen to another.
Anchor Bank holds a lease on commercial space owned by Astra Aerospace. Astra attempts to sell its interest to Ashford Manufacturing without first obtaining Anchor's consent. Anchor refuses consent even though Ashford is financially stronger than Astra. The attempted abalienation proceeds because the lease contains no freely negotiated clause granting Anchor an absolute right to withhold consent.
Andrew Avery owns land subject to a recorded servitude that bars any sale to buyers outside his immediate family. He receives an offer from an unrelated purchaser at fair market value. The restraint is held invalid after a court weighs the limited utility of keeping title within the family against the severe reduction in marketability that enforcement would cause.
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Audrey Ashton receives property under a will that prohibits any sale or encumbrance of the land for any reason. Years later the property requires substantial capital improvements that Audrey cannot finance without borrowing against it. The disabling restraint is struck down because the policy favoring free alienation reasonably applies under the circumstances of purpose, nature, and duration.
Alan Ackerman leases retail space from Amber Alonzo. The lease requires Amber's consent to any assignment but contains no clause giving her an absolute right to refuse. Alan locates a financially sound assignee and requests consent. Amber withholds consent for personal reasons unrelated to the assignee's qualifications. The attempted abalienation proceeds because the landlord's consent cannot be withheld unreasonably.
Antonio Alvarado, a member of an Indian tribe, holds land in trust status under federal law. He seeks to convey the parcel to a non-tribal buyer. The attempted abalienation is barred because the governing statute expressly prohibits alienation of trust land without federal approval.
Aisha Ahmed dies owning real property located in a state whose highest court has interpreted state law to permit certain inter vivos transfers. Her estate representative attempts to complete an abalienation that the state court would recognize. Federal tax authorities must apply the state rule on the validity of the transfer.
A restraint on abalienation of the landlord's interest is valid without tenant consent, but the tenant's consent cannot be withheld unreasonably unless the lease grants an absolute right to withhold. The same structure applies in reverse for restraints on the tenant's interest.
A direct restraint imposed by a servitude is invalid if unreasonable. Reasonableness is determined by weighing the utility of the restraint against the injurious consequences of enforcement.
A disabling restraint in a donative transfer is valid only if, under all circumstances and considering purpose, nature, and duration, the policy favoring freedom of alienation does not reasonably apply.
…The failure to provide education to poor urban children perpetuates a vicious cycle of poverty, dependence, criminality, and alienation that continues for the remainder of their lives. If society cannot end racial discrimination, at least it can arm minorities with the education to defend themselves from some of…