- escrow
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n.1. a contract, deed, bond, or other written agreement deposited with a third person, by whom it is to be delivered to the grantee or promisee on the fulfillment of some condition.2. in escrow, in the keeping of a third person for delivery to a given party upon the fulfillment of some condition.v.t.3. to place in escrow: The home seller agrees to escrow the sum of $1000 with his attorney.[1590-1600; < AF escro(u)we, OF escro(u)e. See SCROLL]
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Instrument, such as a deed, money, or property, that constitutes evidence of obligations between two or more parties and is held by a third party.It is delivered by the third party only upon fulfillment of some condition. In commercial usage, this condition is most often the performance of an act (e.g., payment) by the party who is to receive the instrument. Escrow is also used in family transactions (e.g., when a death in the family results in an instrument being delivered to another family member).* * *
▪ lawin Anglo-American law, an agreement, usually a written instrument, concerning an obligation between two or more parties, that gives a third party instructions that concern property put in his control upon the happening of a certain condition. In commercial usage, this condition is most frequently the performance of an act, such as payment of the purchase price, by the party who is to receive the property. Escrow also is commonly used in family transactions, in which, upon the occurrence of the condition, such as the death of a family member, certain written instruments will be delivered by the third party (escrowee) to another family member. The term generally is used to refer to the state or condition, though it properly refers only to a written instrument of instructions.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
