Context Matters: Measuring the Validity of Blanket Conveyances

“Catch-all” or “blanket” property descriptions purport to grant all the grantor’s property in some geographic area – such as a public land survey system subdivision, county, state or even the entire country – without a specific description of the lands being conveyed.

These types of descriptions frequently appear in conveyances of security interests in real property, such as mortgages and deeds of trust in situations in which the secured party wishes to ensure that its liens encompass the entirety of the debtor’s existing – and, coupled with an after-acquired property clause, potentially future – property in a given area, regardless of whether specific legal descriptions are included.