or

for valuable consideration or for free, but I think above fits better...

The Practicing Notary, Baton Rouge Notary Public Baton Rouge ...As to both movables and immovables, a transfer by onerous title must be made in writing and a transfer by gratuitous title must be made by authentic act. ...
www.la-notary.com/civil/civil3_6.html - 43k

Bill 202 An Act respecting Hillcrest Protestant Cemetery of Deux ...
Whereas the transfer by onerous title of the vacant land described in the ...
the land described in the schedule by onerous title to a person who is not an ...
www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/ telecharge.php?type=5&file=2003C202A.PDF

lucrative title

Title Insurance — A title to real estate that has been acquired with nothing given in exchange for it.

Compare: onerous title
See: real estate, title

http://insource.nils.com/gloss/GlossaryTerm.asp?tid=3626





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Note added at 7 mins (2006-03-16 11:57:18 GMT)
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lucrative title Definitionlucrative title - definition of lucrative title - Title obtained as a gift or at a price significantly below the market price.
www.investorwords.com/2905/lucrative_title.html - 19k - 14 Mar 2006 -


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Note added at 8 mins (2006-03-16 11:58:30 GMT)
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French Civil Code: Book III: Of Acquiring Property, Title XX
Of The Different Modes Of Acquiring Property. TITLE XX. OF PRESCRIPTION. ...
whether by universal or particular title, or by lucrative or chargeable title. ...
www.napoleon-series.org/research/ government/code/book3/c_title20.html

another way of putting it

The phrase means that the contract cannot be ceded or assigned to third parties either under:
'onerous title': for example, a sale where there is a price or other consideration to be paid)

'gratuitous title': for example, a donation where no price is paid.

These are the proper legal terms which are usually found in the Laws.

Quick note on consideration, a basic doctrine of English law.
Note two basic legal systems, Roamn and common law. France essentially Roman law, England essentially common law. NB that Scotland has a system of Roman inspiration.

"Consideration : an act, forbearance or promise by one party to a contract that constitutes the price for which he buys the promise of the other. Consideration is essential to the validity of any contract other than one made by deed. Without consideration, an agreement not made by deed is not binding - it is "nudum pactum..."

Further

"... Foru major principles :
1) valuable consideration... the act etc... must have some economic value"
2) consideration need not be adequate but it must be sufficient..."
3) consideration must move from the promisee..."
4) Considertiaon may be executory or executed but it must not be past"...

This is a straight lift from the Oxford Dictionary of English Law. Just by way of info.


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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-03-16 14:58:12 GMT)
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England's civil law is based on comon law principles, not Roman law. In France, of course, it is otherwise.

A basic principle of English law is that for a contract to be valid, there must be valuable consideration. That value need not be expressed in monetary terms, but it must have some economic value. Contracts made under deed are an exception to that rule.

The concept of "consideration" is foreign to civil law systems such as that of France and Belgium.

From the web site referenced below:
... This discrepancy can probably be explained by the fact that to French civil law lawyers, who have no concept of consideration, “mere” agreement makes no sense ...

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Note added at 1 hr (2006-03-16 12:59:36 GMT)
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Naturally, "by onerous or gratuitous title" is absolutely correct -- in fact, it is used in Quebec legalese all the time -- but Americans (with the exception of Louisiana lawyers, etc., who are familiar with the Roman/Napoleonic civil law system) will have no idea what it means.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-03-16 15:23:16 GMT)
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In the expression "by onerous title", the word "title" is not being used in its common-law sense, so it can apply whether property OR services are involved. When the term "title" is used in a civil law context (France, Quebec, etc.) it simply means "manner or "fashion". The problem, as Nikki's comments show, is that when Anglo-Saxons who are not experts in French law see certain terms, they will assume the terms have the common law meaning with which they are familiar. This is why netural work-arounds, or translator's notes, are very important.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-03-16 15:27:08 GMT)
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In the expression "by onerous title", the word "title" is not being used in its common-law sense, so it can apply whether property OR services are involved. When the term "title" is used in a civil law context (France, Quebec, etc.) it simply means "manner or "fashion". The problem, as Nikki's comments show, is that when Anglo-Saxons who are not experts in French law see certain terms, they will assume the terms have the common law meaning with which they are familiar. This is why netural work-arounds, or translator's notes, are very important.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-03-16 15:47:57 GMT)
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In the expression "by onerous title", the word "title" is not being used in its common-law sense, so it can apply whether property OR services are involved. When the term "title" is used in a civil law context (France, Quebec, etc.) it simply means "manner or "fashion". The problem, as Nikki's comments show, is that when Anglo-Saxons who are not experts in French law see certain terms, they will assume the terms have the common law meaning with which they are familiar. This is why netural work-arounds, or translator's notes, are very important.

from : Vocabulaire Juridique de Gérard Cornu (highly reliable French legal dictionary)

à titre onéreux: qui comporte une charge, une contrepartie. antonyme: gratuit;

acte à titre onéreux: acte juridique en vertu duquel celui qui reçoit une prestation doit en fournir une contrepartie;

contrepartie: dans un contrat synallagmatique, synonyme de contre-prestation;

"onéreux" means "that costs something, that has a value, that must be paid for in cash or in kind". A transfer "à titre onéreux" is one for which the transferee must pay/give something in return (a "contrepartie").
Referring to Nikki's answer, I can't be too positive about the consequences of the lack of a "contrepartie" on the validity of a contract, but I think the notion of "lésion" could have something to do with it (under French law, a contract can be cancelled in case of "lésion", i.e., when the price is so disproportionate to the service provided that it causes a prejudice to one of the parties -however, there are specific conditions for that, in particular, conditions pertaining to the amount of the prejudice incurred). On the whole, I don't think using the word "consideration" will pose any issue in your particular context. In fact, I think it would be a pretty accurate translation! Surely, it is broad enough to cover a large variety of cases, which I guess is precisely what the author meant to do in your context. Bref, "with or without consideration" would work fine.

hope that helped