Illinois exam glossary
Executed contract
Executed can mean signed, or it can mean fully performed. Use the facts in the question to decide which meaning applies. A signed purchase agreement may still have payment, title transfer, and other duties waiting to be completed.
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The short answer
An executed contract is fully performed when the term describes performance. Executed can also mean that a document has been signed. A signed purchase agreement can therefore remain executory because payment, conveyance or another promise is unfinished. Closing the conveyance does not prove that every collateral or expressly surviving duty has been performed.
Reviewed October 25, 2026. PSI National V.A.9 covers notice, delivery, acceptance and execution of contracts; V.A.11 covers contract rights and obligations. The full Contracts domain has 19 of 100 scored national questions, with no separate executed-contract quota. This glossary distinguishes contract performance from signatures, deed delivery, recording and post-closing obligations. It does not decide a live title or merger dispute.
Read the document, then check what remains
- Find the intended meaning. In a phrase such as the parties executed the agreement, executed usually refers to signing. In an executed-versus-executory comparison, it refers to performance. Use the facts rather than treating the word as a closing date.
- List the promises being tested. A buyer may owe the purchase funds; a seller may owe the agreed conveyance, possession and documents. If a required act remains, identify it. Formation, signature and performance are separate questions.
- Separate the deed steps. Signing is not the same as operative delivery and acceptance. A notarized deed does not conclusively establish delivery. A document held in escrow may remain subject to release conditions.
- Keep recording in its proper place. Recording supplies public-record notice and can affect priority against creditors and subsequent purchasers without notice. It is different from signing the purchase contract or deciding whether delivery and acceptance occurred.
- Check obligations after conveyance. A deed can supersede the conveyance provisions of a sale contract, but collateral undertakings and recognized exceptions can prevent merger. If an expressly preserved repair is unfinished, say the conveyance is complete and the repair remains due. Do not call every contractual promise fully performed.
- Distinguish completion from another discharge. A release or cancellation can end a duty without the promised work being done. Substantial performance is also different from exact completion. Read the actual promise, conditions and remaining issue before choosing an answer.
| Question | Best evidence | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| Was the agreement signed? | Required signatures and the surrounding facts | Payment and conveyance are complete |
| Was buyer performance complete? | Funds and required documents | Deed valid |
| Was seller performance complete? | Deed, title, possession, documents | Recording cures defects |
| Was deed delivered? | Intent, control, escrow release | Signature alone passes title |
| Was deed recorded? | Recorder receipt and instrument number | Recording equals formation |
| Does a duty remain after conveyance? | The actual promise, survival language and applicable law | Every promise was performed at closing |
The distinctions that matter
| Distinction | How it works | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| Executed document vs. executed performance | Executed may describe a signed document. In a performance comparison, executed means fully performed. State which meaning the facts support. | Signature complete versus bargain complete. |
| Executed vs. executory contract | Executed means fully performed in this comparison. Executory means performance remains due from one or both parties. | Performed versus pending. |
| Contract acceptance vs. closing | Acceptance concerns reaching an agreement, subject to the applicable formation requirements. Closing carries out the agreed exchange; it does not prove that every surviving promise is finished. | Agreement made versus agreement carried out. |
| Deed execution vs. deed delivery | Execution concerns signing and formal completion of the deed. Delivery requires intent that it operate to pass title and loss of grantor control. | Paper signed versus conveyance activated. |
| Physical transfer vs. legal delivery | Handing over paper is evidence, but legal delivery turns on present conveyance intent, control, conditions, and the circumstances. | Who holds it versus whether title should pass. |
| Delivery vs. acceptance | Delivery focuses on the grantor's operative intent. Acceptance focuses on the grantee receiving the conveyance. | Grantor releases versus grantee receives. |
| Delivery vs. recording | Delivery makes the deed operative between the parties when requirements are met. Recording gives public notice and affects priority. | Conveyance effect versus public record. |
| Legal title vs. possession | Legal title is ownership conveyed through the deed transaction. Possession is occupancy or control and can move at a different time. | Who owns versus who occupies. |
| Merger vs. survival | A deed may supersede conveyance terms. A collateral or expressly preserved duty can remain after conveyance; that duty is not performed merely because the deed was delivered. | Term absorbed versus term remains. |
| Full performance vs. substantial performance | Full performance means the promised performance is complete. Calling performance substantial does not establish that every promised act was done or decide the remedy for a defect. | Exact completion versus essential completion with defect. |
| Performance vs. release | Performance discharges a duty by doing what was promised. A release ends a claim or duty through a separate agreement or instrument. | Promise fulfilled versus right surrendered. |
| Closing statement vs. deed | The settlement statement accounts for transaction money. The deed is the instrument used to convey the real-property estate. | Financial accounting versus title conveyance. |
Work through the facts
Signed contract, performance pending
Buyer and seller have signed and delivered a purchase agreement, but financing, title review, final payment, deed delivery, and possession remain.
- The agreement is executed in the signature sense.
- Major contract promises are unfinished.
- The sale remains executory in the performance sense.
Answer: It is a signed agreement, not yet a fully performed contract.
Deed signed but retained
The seller signs a deed and locks it in a personal safe, intending to decide next month whether to complete the gift. The grantee never receives or accepts it.
- The seller executed the paper.
- The seller retained control and lacked present intent to pass title.
- No facts establish operative delivery or grantee acceptance.
Answer: Signing alone did not convey title.
Conditional escrow delivery
Seller places a signed deed with the escrowee under written instructions to release it only when buyer funds and lender documents arrive. The conditions remain unsatisfied.
- Physical possession moved to the escrowee.
- Release and title passage remain subject to agreed conditions.
- The transaction has not completed simply because escrow holds the deed.
Answer: The deed remains conditionally held and the sale is still executory.
Core closing performance
Buyer supplies all required funds, the seller's valid deed is operatively delivered under satisfied escrow instructions, the buyer accepts and possession is delivered. The facts state that no promised act remains due.
- Buyer performed the payment promise.
- Seller completed the operative conveyance and possession duties.
- The essential exchange is complete.
Answer: The stated exchange is fully performed. This conclusion follows from the supplied facts, not from the word closing alone.
Unrecorded does not mean undelivered
An authorized, valid deed has been operatively delivered and accepted. It has not yet been recorded. The question asks about the conveyance between the parties and supplies no intervening creditor or purchaser claim.
- Delivery and acceptance are different from recording.
- Section 30 addresses protection against creditors and subsequent purchasers without notice.
- Shedrick recognized the conveyance on its facts before the later recording.
Answer: Lack of recording alone does not establish that no conveyance occurred between these parties. Recording and priority still require separate attention.
Conveyance term merges
The purchase contract promises a specified ownership estate, and the buyer knowingly accepts a delivered deed in full execution of that conveyance without a survival clause or other exception.
- The deed is intended to perform the conveyance promise.
- The Illinois Supreme Court explains merger and its qualifications in Czarobski v. Lata.
- Exact language, intent, and recognized exceptions still require review.
Answer: The conveyance provision may merge into the accepted deed.
Collateral repair duty survives
The contract requires seller to replace a furnace within 20 days after closing and states that the promise survives deed delivery. The sale closes on time.
- The deed completed the title conveyance.
- Furnace replacement is not performed by the deed.
- The express survival language preserves the repair promise; closing does not perform that work.
Answer: The conveyance is complete, but the repair promise remains unperformed. Do not describe the entire agreement as fully performed while that promised work remains due.
Notarized does not settle delivery
A seller signs and acknowledges a deed but keeps it under the seller's control. The stated facts establish no operative delivery or grantee acceptance.
- Acknowledgment and delivery address different facts.
- Shedrick explains that acknowledgment does not eliminate the separate requirements of delivery and acceptance.
Answer: Do not treat notarization alone as proof that the conveyance is complete.
Only one party has finished
An inspection company has delivered the report it promised. The client still owes the agreed inspection fee.
- The company performed its stated service.
- The client's payment obligation remains.
- The general executed-versus-executory comparison asks whether performance remains from either party.
Answer: The agreement remains executory as to the unpaid obligation.
A release is not evidence of completed work
Before any agreed repair is done, the parties sign a valid mutual release ending that repair obligation.
- The scenario supplies a valid release.
- The repair duty ended through release, not through performance.
Answer: The duty was discharged by agreement. It was not fulfilled by doing the repair.
Mistakes to avoid
- Using executed without context State whether you mean signed paper or completed contract performance.
- Calling signatures full performance Identify unfinished payment, conveyance, possession or other promised acts. A signed paper does not establish completion.
- Calling closing a single signature Closing coordinates reciprocal documents, money, conveyance, and possession.
- Treating a signed deed as delivered Delivery needs present transfer intent and surrender of control under the circumstances.
- Ignoring grantee acceptance Title does not pass where neither actual acceptance nor a justified presumption exists.
- Confusing escrow possession with release Conditional instructions may prevent operative release until closing conditions are met.
- Equating recording with delivery Recording addresses public notice; legal delivery turns on grantor intent and control.
- Treating the recorder as deciding every title issue A public filing does not conclusively establish operative delivery, acceptance or authority. The underlying facts still matter.
- Ignoring deed formalities Separate validity, acknowledgment, delivery and recordability. Section 35c expressly says that failure to comply with its acknowledgment provision does not invalidate the instrument; a notarized signature does not by itself establish delivery.
- Applying merger to every promise Test whether a promise is conveyance-related, collateral, independent, or expressly surviving.
- Ignoring mistake or misrepresentation Illinois merger doctrine has recognized exceptions that require evidence and legal analysis.
- Equating substantial and perfect performance Substantial performance does not establish that every promise was fulfilled. The contract and applicable law determine the effect of a defect.
- Assuming performance prevents fraud claims Closing does not automatically erase fraud, title, warranty, or surviving-contract issues.
- Discarding the closing file Retain proof of signatures, funds, deed delivery, recording, escrow, and surviving duties.
- Letting a broker give a merger opinion Refer deed validity, delivery, title, merger, and post-closing liability to qualified counsel and title professionals.
- Calling every promise executed because the deed was delivered Describe the completed conveyance separately from an unfinished collateral or expressly surviving duty.
Check your understanding
These are original teaching questions, not recalled or predicted PSI questions. Answer first, then explain why the other choices fail.
1. Buyer and seller signed the purchase agreement, but payment and conveyance remain. Which description is best?
- Fully performed merely because the parties signed
- Fully performed if earnest money was deposited
- Executed in the signing sense, still executory in performance
- Unsigned because closing has not occurred
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Executed in the signing sense, still executory in performance
Executed can refer to signing. Unfinished payment and conveyance mean performance remains due.
2. A question contrasts an executed contract with an executory contract. What meaning of executed is being tested?
- Recorded in the land records
- Notarized by both parties
- Fully performed
- Signed regardless of remaining duties
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Fully performed
The performance comparison asks whether the promised performance has been completed.
3. A seller signs a deed, keeps it under the seller's control and expresses no present intent to convey. What does signing alone establish?
- Completion of every sale obligation
- Execution of the paper, not necessarily operative delivery
- Automatic public-record notice
- Completed delivery and acceptance
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Execution of the paper, not necessarily operative delivery
Signing, delivery and acceptance are different issues. The stated facts do not establish an operative conveyance.
4. What does the grantee-side acceptance requirement concern?
- Whether the grantor paid the recording charge
- Whether the buyer obtained the lowest interest rate
- Whether the grantee accepted the conveyance or the facts justify a legal presumption
- Whether the property appraised at the contract price
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Whether the grantee accepted the conveyance or the facts justify a legal presumption
Shedrick distinguishes acceptance from execution and explains that mere possession is not necessarily acceptance.
5. An Illinois deed is duly acknowledged and recorded. Which statement about delivery and acceptance is supported by Shedrick?
- They occurred only if the grantee personally paid for recording
- A rebuttable presumption may apply; contrary evidence still matters
- They are irrelevant after recording
- They are conclusively established and cannot be challenged
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. A rebuttable presumption may apply; contrary evidence still matters
The published opinion describes the presumption as rebuttable, not conclusive.
6. Buyer accepts a deed intended to fulfill the conveyance terms. No collateral promise or recognized exception is supplied. What may happen to those conveyance terms?
- They may merge into the deed
- They automatically become a separate lease
- They become a recorded mortgage
- They remain untouched by any merger rule
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. They may merge into the deed
Merger can make the deed supersede sale-contract terms. Actual language, facts and recognized qualifications matter.
7. A contract expressly preserves a seller's furnace replacement due 20 days after closing. The deed is delivered, but the furnace is not replaced. Which is best?
- The conveyance is complete; the repair promise remains unperformed
- The repair was performed through merger
- The buyer necessarily has no enforceable post-closing right
- Every promise was performed when the deed was delivered
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The conveyance is complete; the repair promise remains unperformed
A deed does not itself perform an independent repair. Identify the remaining promise rather than calling the entire agreement fully performed.
8. A party describes its work as substantial performance. What follows from that phrase alone?
- Every exact condition was fulfilled
- It does not establish exact completion of every promise
- Every surviving promise merged into the deed
- No defect or further issue can remain
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. It does not establish exact completion of every promise
Substantial and full performance are different descriptions. The actual contract and law determine the effect of a defect.
9. An inspection company delivered the report, but the client still owes the agreed fee. Under the general contract comparison, which is correct?
- The agreement remains executory as to the unpaid obligation
- The contract was fully performed by both parties
- Both parties must owe work before the contract can be executory
- Only real estate conveyance contracts can be executory
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The agreement remains executory as to the unpaid obligation
General executory terminology includes performance still due from one or both parties.
10. A seller asserts that every post-closing claim is barred because a deed was accepted. What is the appropriate analysis?
- Examine merger, collateral duties, survival language and any supported exception
- Treat the recorded deed as proof that every promise was performed
- Assume every allegation of mistake guarantees recovery
- Accept the assertion without reading the contract
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Examine merger, collateral duties, survival language and any supported exception
Czarobski recognizes qualifications to merger. A possible exception is not a guaranteed successful claim.
11. The parties validly release an unfinished repair obligation. Was that repair performed?
- Only if the release was recorded as a deed
- No; release ended the duty without the work being done
- Yes; signing the release proves the repair happened
- Yes; every discharge is full performance
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. No; release ended the duty without the work being done
Discharge by agreement and fulfillment by performance are different ways a duty can end.
12. Under Section 35c, which statement correctly distinguishes acknowledgment from deed validity?
- An unacknowledged deed is always eligible for recording
- The section expressly says noncompliance with its acknowledgment provision does not invalidate the instrument
- Notarization conclusively proves delivery
- Missing acknowledgment automatically invalidates every instrument
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The section expressly says noncompliance with its acknowledgment provision does not invalidate the instrument
That express qualification does not eliminate delivery, acceptance, other validity issues or recording requirements.
Common questions
What is an executed contract in real estate?
In the performance sense, an executed contract is fully performed. In an ordinary sale, the core exchange includes the required payment and conveyance. Identify the promises covered by the question: a completed conveyance can coexist with a repair or adjustment still due under the agreement. That remaining promise has not been performed simply because closing occurred.
Does executed always mean fully performed?
No. Legal and business usage also calls a signed document executed. A contract can therefore be executed by the parties in the signature sense while it remains executory in the performance sense. Exam questions usually reveal the intended meaning through facts about closing, payment, deed delivery, or unfinished duties.
Is a signed purchase contract an executed contract?
It can be called executed in the signing sense while performance remains executory. For example, the parties may have signed a purchase agreement but still owe final payment and conveyance. Signing, enforceability and full performance are different questions.
When is an Illinois real estate sale fully performed?
The exact contract controls. A typical closing completes the reciprocal core promises when required funds are delivered, the deed is validly delivered with intent to pass title, escrow conditions are satisfied, and possession and documents are handled as agreed. Recording ordinarily protects notice and priority but should not be confused with contract formation or the grantor's delivery intent.
Does signing a deed transfer Illinois real estate?
No. Deed execution, operative delivery and grantee acceptance are separate issues. The published opinion In re Estate of Shedrick explains that acknowledgment does not eliminate delivery and acceptance requirements. Keeping a signed deed under the grantor's control, handing it over conditionally and completing an operative delivery are different facts.
Is recording the deed the same as delivering it?
No. Recording creates a public land-record filing and can affect notice and priority. Delivery and acceptance concern the operative conveyance. An acknowledged and recorded deed may support a rebuttable presumption of delivery and acceptance; that is different from conclusive proof. Recording alone should not be treated as a cure for every defect.
What happens to the purchase contract after deed delivery?
Illinois's merger doctrine can make an accepted deed supersede sale-contract provisions. Czarobski v. Lata explains an exception for undertakings that deed delivery does not fulfill, such as independent or collateral obligations. The Supreme Court also allowed the mutual-mistake claim in that case to proceed despite a merger defense. A later claim is not automatically valid merely because a party alleges a mistake or fraud.
Can contract duties survive an Illinois closing?
Yes. A collateral undertaking or an expressly preserved promise can remain, depending on the agreement and applicable law. A repair due 20 days after closing is not performed by delivering the deed. Say that the conveyance is complete and the repair remains due, rather than describing every promise as fulfilled.
What is the difference between performance and substantial performance?
They are not interchangeable. Full performance means the promised performance is complete. A substantial-performance argument concerns the legal effect of less than exact performance. It does not prove that every promise was fulfilled, excuse every unmet condition or determine the remedy without the contract and relevant law.
Does full performance prevent every later claim?
No. Surviving warranties, fraud, misrepresentation, mutual mistake, title covenants, escrow duties, recording problems, latent issues, indemnities, and other legal claims can remain. Limitation periods, merger, waiver, release, notice, proof, and remedy rules require the actual documents and legal analysis.
Are these official PSI questions or legal advice?
No. These questions are original exam practice, not PSI questions or legal advice. The source notes identify the official outline, statutory passages and published judicial text used. A disputed deed, escrow release, merger defense or post-closing claim requires review of the actual documents and evidence.
Can a contract remain executory when one party has finished?
Yes, in the general performance comparison. If an inspection company delivered its report but the client still owes the fee, performance remains due from the client. Do not require both parties to have unfinished duties before using the general term executory.
Does notarization prove an Illinois deed was delivered?
No. Acknowledgment addresses execution evidence and formalities; it does not conclusively establish delivery or acceptance. Section 35c also states that failure to comply with its acknowledgment provision does not invalidate the instrument. That limited statement is not permission to ignore recording requirements or other deed defects.
Does a signed real estate contract itself transfer legal title?
A contract to sell is different from the completed sale and conveyance. Carollo v. Irwin distinguishes the signed executory agreement in that case from a completed legal-title transfer. Equitable rights under an enforceable contract are a separate question; do not turn that distinction into a conclusion that the buyer has no rights at all.
Does cancellation mean the contract was executed by performance?
No. Duties can end through a valid cancellation, release or another legal discharge without the promised work being performed. First identify how the duty ended, then use the appropriate label.
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Official sources and scope
Checked October 25, 2026. The Supreme Court's Czarobski opinion supports merger and its qualifications. The published Shedrick and Gabbett opinions support delivery, acceptance and intent. The original Rule 23 order is not used as precedent. DRE supplies general vocabulary only. Other identified primary readings are reused; this glossary is not a complete deed, title or closing manual.
- PSI June 24, 2026 outline: contract execution, rights and obligations
- California DRE glossary: executed and executory terminology
- Illinois Courts: Carollo v. Irwin, 2011 IL App (1st) 102765
- Illinois Supreme Court: Czarobski v. Lata, 227 Ill. 2d 364 (2008)
- Published Illinois decision: In re Estate of Shedrick, 122 Ill. App. 3d 861 (1984)
- 765 ILCS 5/35c: acknowledgment and express noninvalidity provision
- 765 ILCS 5/30: recording, creditors and purchasers without notice
- Published Illinois decision: In re Estate of Gabbett (2004)
This is exam preparation, not advice for a specific transaction. State law and the applicable facts control. Our editorial and corrections process explains how to report an issue.