Editing Allodial title (section)

===Proof of ownership===
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Until the 18th century, almost all common law property ownership depended on proving a link of possession from a royal grant of title to the property owner. Although the feudal system had ceased from England in 1660, and is now [[fee simple]] [[taxation]], in theory the feudal chain of title still exists, although it is a formality.

However, proving ownership in the absence of the documents was an impossibility, and [[Forgery|forgeries]] of crown grants were common and difficult to detect. Moreover, it was nearly impossible to determine if land was subject to common law encumbrances (i.e. mortgages). This led to the establishment in the 18th century of [[Land registration|land registry]] systems, where a central office in each county was responsible for the filing of land [[deed]]s, mortgages, [[lien]]s and other evidence of ownership, transfer or encumbrance. Under land registry, deeds and charges were not recognized unless they were filed, and persons who filed were given priority over previous transactions that had not been filed. Moreover, under [[Statute of limitations|statutes of limitation]], in certain jurisdictions only documents that had been filed in the past 40 years had to be consulted to determine the chain of ownership.