Also known as: personal effect · personal property · chattels
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Movable personal property consisting of items of a personal character. The category covers tangible goods owned by an individual, especially those held by a decedent at death, and excludes real property and fixtures.
Pierre Poulin removed a watch and wallet from the home of a recently deceased neighbor before the estate inventory. The items qualified as personal effects capable of being possessed and having value. The taking satisfied the trespassory element for larceny of tangible personal property.
Phuong Pham entered a neighbor's yard to retrieve her own suitcase that had blown over the fence during a storm. The suitcase counted as her personal effects. The entry was privileged to prevent harm to her chattels.
Paula Pierce's delivery vans were seized by federal agents under a forfeiture statute without prior notice. The vans were movable personal effects that could be hidden or removed. Due process permitted the seizure followed by later safeguards.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Pablo Perez granted a security interest to a lender that described the collateral as all of his personal property. The description failed to identify specific items such as tools and clothing that constituted his personal effects. The security interest was therefore unenforceable against those assets.
Pierce Patterson held a set of family heirlooms belonging to Perry Pratt under a contract to transfer them. Pratt later manifested assent to release Patterson from the duty. The heirlooms, as identified personal effects, were discharged without consideration.
The personal representative of an estate demanded delivery of jewelry and clothing from an heir who had taken them home. The items were tangible personal effects of the decedent. The representative was entitled to possession for administration purposes.
No. The category covers movable personal property of a personal character owned by any individual. Dictionary sources emphasize items of a personal character while probate materials focus on those held at death.
Supporting sources
No. A description of collateral as all the debtor's personal property does not reasonably identify the collateral under UCC rules. Specific identification is required for enforcement.
The government may seize movable personal property subject to forfeiture without pre-seizure notice when the items can be removed or hidden. Prompt post-seizure safeguards satisfy due process.
No. Real property and its fixtures cannot be the subject of larceny or treated as personal effects. Only severed items that have become personal property qualify.
…decision, as I shall endeavor to show, are these: — 1. A sovereign State must necessarily have such control over the real and personal property actually being within its limits, as that it may subject the same to the payment of debts justly due to its citizens. 2. This result is not altered by the circumstance that the owner of…