Does allodial title exist in the United States?
True allodial title does not exist in the United States. Most people who make the claim that it does base their argument on a broad interpretation of the Treaty of Paris (1783), which formally ended both the Revolutionary War and American fealty to the English Crown. The Treaty does reject the Crown’s feudal interests in American lands, but does not specifically mention allodial title. The fact that privately held lands in the United States are subject to taxation, police power, escheat, and eminent domain means that title to these lands is not and cannot be allodial, according to its legal definition. Two states, Nevada and Texas, offer limited allodial title, although Nevada stopped accepting applications in 2005. With strict respect to its definition, neither state offers true allodial title. Nevada’s process required the payment of all property taxes upfront before the property could be removed from the tax rolls. In addition, both states allow the seizure of property (allodial or
