Crusader Kings 3 Claims and De Jure Claims are land titles to which you are entitled.
In Crusader Kings 3, you need to have a valid claim to a given piece of land before you can take it for yourself. Claims can come from relationships (implied claims are claims that eligible children have due to their parents having the appropriate titles), through your Realm Chaplain and their “Fabricate a Claim on the County” ability, and most importantly De jure.
So what exactly is De Jure? The lands and titles in Crusader Kings 3 follow a hierarchy, and from smallest to largest, they are baronies, counties, duchies, kingdoms and finally empires. What does this mean to you and the headlines? Well, think of it this way: a number of counties make up a Duchy, and if you own the title of that Duchy you have a De Jure claim on all the counties within it that you don't personally own. THAT IS TO SAY. If you own the duchy title, but only two of the three county titles, you have a De Jure claim on the third and can legally wage war for it. You can see what's falling under what via the Duchy, Kingdom, and Empire map toggles at the bottom right of the HUD, near the date and game speed.
Plus, there's a thing called De Jure Drift. Wait what !? Don't worry, it's not as complex as it looks. Let's say I own a duchy which falls under the Kingdom of Scotland. I will not be considered the legitimate liege by my vassals there, but over time this Duchy will evolve into a Duchy of the Kingdom of Ireland, thus removing De Jure's claim from England. It may take a hundred years, so it will take work to keep it under your banner (although your Chancellor has an ability that will speed up this process), but once De Jure becomes part of your kingdom, England loses its ability. to claim it and go to war with you over it. Drift only applies to Duchies and Kingdoms, so you won't see any counties or baronies affected by this.
About War: Claims of any kind provide you with a casus belli (cause of war) on the associated title in Crusader Kings 3. If you have a courtier with a handful of claims, you can legally wage war on their behalf. , and can actually add that land to your ruler's domain after you take it and he becomes your vassal (vassals are lower level rulers who help you run your kingdom, and if you are their cork, their land counts for your domain without you having to own the title). Things can get a little tricky when inheritance and inheritance come into play, but the basics of claims are straightforward: if you or someone in your court has a claim, you can wage war on this land, either way. the only exception of the baronies (they are balanced with their county).
A final note on complaints: there are unhurried and rushed complaints. An unexpressed complaint is legally precarious and does not pass to eligible children in the event of death. Fabricated claims are always unvalidated and a Pressed claim becomes an unvalidated claim once it is submitted. An unexpressed demand can turn into a rushed demand if you go to war for it and at least end the war with a white peace (think a deadlock truce).
As for Pressed claims: they are legally stronger, so they can be inherited by eligible children. These are great for acquiring titles later down the line, such as when you transfer to your heir upon the death of your ruler, but remember that other characters take advantage of this system in Crusader Kings 3 as well (so, some murders may be okay if you want to minimize the competition). Then again, you can also have weddings and recruit plaintiffs in your court to explicitly enter claims for yourself, so don't be afraid to take advantage of another character's line of succession.
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