Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1. 
 the act of taking possession of or power over something; 
- Example: "his assumption of office coincided with the trouble in Cuba"- Example: "the Nazi assumption of power in 1934"- Example: "he acquired all the company's assets for ten million dollars and the assumption of the company's debts"[syn: assumption, laying claim]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
laying claim
    n 1: the act of taking possession of or power over something;
         "his assumption of office coincided with the trouble in
         Cuba"; "the Nazi assumption of power in 1934"; "he acquired
         all the company's assets for ten million dollars and the
         assumption of the company's debts" [syn: assumption,
         laying claim]