Free and clear

[T]hey cannot at once name a dozen in the town who own their farms free and clear.

I have been trying to get a free and clear title to the land for a client of mine.

The will might stipulate, for example, that the heir receive the home, free and clear, Ms. Wheatley-Liss said, which may mean that the executor will be directed to sell stocks, bonds or other assets in the estate to pay off the mortgage.

I made the last payment on the house today. . . . We’re free and clear.

Though standard in real estate transactions, the concept of title insurance, which guarantees that a seller is the free and clear owner, has been resisted by the art world.