Also known as: M · Master · Magistrate
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An abbreviation used in legal and financial documents to denote a mortgage. Historical usage also marked treasury notes bearing interest at one mill per centum or branded the left thumb of a manslaughter convict claiming benefit of clergy.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Ming Ma executed a deed conveying property to Matrix Technologies. The document recorded the lien as M. to indicate the mortgage securing the purchase price. When Matrix later sought to enforce the security interest, the notation established the existence of the recorded encumbrance.
Mason McCarthy purchased a treasury note bearing the letter M. engraved on its face. The notation confirmed the instrument carried interest at one mill per centum. Upon maturity the issuer paid the principal plus the designated interest amount.
Michael Miller and Maria Morales held title to their home subject to an M. recorded at purchase. After their marriage dissolved, the court allocated responsibility for the mortgage payments according to the recorded lien. The abbreviation clarified the debt encumbering the marital residence.
Monica Morgan received property subject to an M. securing a prior loan. When she sought administrative benefits, the agency examined the recorded mortgage to determine her net assets. The abbreviation identified the outstanding lien reducing her eligibility.
Meredith Maxwell offered an appraisal that listed the property's M. as a deduction from market value. The court evaluated whether the mortgage notation was a reliable fact for calculating damages. The abbreviation supplied the debt amount used in the expert's calculation.
Monarch Pharmaceuticals acquired land financed by a note marked M. State law governed enforcement of the mortgage because no federal statute displaced it. The abbreviation confirmed the security instrument subject to Erie analysis.
It denotes a mortgage. The notation appears on deeds and notes to identify the security interest.
No. The brand on a manslaughter convict's thumb and the treasury-note marking are obsolete. Only the mortgage abbreviation remains in use.
…Coke, Institutes III 50; 1 W. Hawkins, Pleas of the Crown, c. 31, § 16 (4th ed. 1762); 1 W. Blackstone, Commentaries 129-130; M. Hale, Pleas of the Crown 433 (1st Amer. ed. 1847). For discussions of the role of the quickening concept in English common law, see Lader 78; Noonan 223-226; Means, The Law of New York…