A chose in possession is an item of tangible personal property that can be physical possessed by the owner and can be transferred by delivery. Possession of a chose in possession is prima-facie evidence of ownership.
Chose in possession is opposed to chose in action, and denotes not only the right to enjoy or possess a thing, but also the actual or constructive enjoyment of it. The possession may be absolute or qualified. It is absolute when the person is fully and completely the proprietor or owner of the thing; it is qualified when he "has not an exclusive right, or not a permanent right, but a right that may sometimes subsist and at other times not subsist," as in the case of animals ferae naturae (feral by nature). A chose in possession is freely transferable by delivery. Previous to the Married Women's Property Act of 1882, a wife's choses in possession became vested in her husband immediately upon her marriage, while her choses in action did not belong to her husband until he had converted them to possession. However, this difference is now practically obsolete.
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Famous quotes containing the words chose and/or possession:
“I ... chose my wife as she did her wedding-gown, not for a fine glossy surface, but such qualities as would wear well.”
—Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774)
“Tell my son how anxious I am that he may read and learn his Book, that he may become the possessor of those things that a grateful country has bestowed upon his papa—Tell him that his happiness through life depends upon his procuring an education now; and with it, to imbibe proper moral habits that can entitle him to the possession of them.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)