Chapter 2

Question 1

What is the name of the part of the conveyance that tells you who is receiving the conveyed interest?

Answer 1

Words of purchase

Question 2

What is the name of the part of the conveyance that tells you what kind of interest that person is receiving?

Answer 2

Words of limitation

Question 3

Underline the words of purchase and bolden the words of limitation, if any. Beside each conveyance, write the name of the estate being conveyed to A (fee simple, fee tail, life estate, or term of years).

O to A and her heirs.

Answer 3

O to A and her heirs. (fee simple)

Question 4

Underline the words of purchase and bolden the words of limitation, if any. Beside each conveyance, write the name of the estate being conveyed to A (fee simple, fee tail, life estate, or term of years).

O to A for 2 years.

Answer 4

O to A for 2 years. (term of years)

Question 5

Underline the words of purchase and bolden the words of limitation, if any. Beside each conveyance, write the name of the estate being conveyed to A (fee simple, fee tail, life estate, or term of years).

O to A and the heirs of his body.

Answer 5

O to A and the heirs of his body. (fee tail)

Question 6

Underline the words of purchase and bolden the words of limitation, if any. Beside each conveyance, write the name of the estate being conveyed to A (fee simple, fee tail, life estate, or term of years).

O to A for the life of B.

Answer 6

O to A for the life of B. (life estate)

Question 7

Underline the words of purchase and bolden the words of limitation, if any. Beside each conveyance, write the name of the estate being conveyed to A (fee simple, fee tail, life estate, or term of years).

O to A for the life of B.

Answer 7

O to A for the life of B. (life estate pur autre vie)

Question 8

Underline the words of purchase and bolden the words of limitation, if any. Beside each conveyance, write the name of the estate being conveyed to A (fee simple, fee tail, life estate, or term of years).

O to A. (assume modern law)

Answer 8

O to A. (fee simple)

Question 9

What is the duration of B’s estate (if any)?

O conveys to A and her heirs. (B is A’s only child.)

Answer 9

A has a fee simple. B has nothing

Question 10

What is the duration of B’s estate (if any)?

O conveys to A for life. Then A conveys to B.

Answer 10

B has a life estate pur autre vie. A is the measuring life. B’s life estate will last until A dies.

Question 11

What is the duration of B’s estate (if any)?

O conveys to A and the heirs of his body. Then A conveys to B. (Assume original fee tail.)

Answer 11

A (the owner of the fee tail in its original form) can convey only the right to possess the land during A’s life. Therefore, B’s estate will last only until A dies.

Question 12

What is the duration of B’s estate (if any)?

O conveys to A for 10 years. Then A immediately conveys to B.

Answer 12

B’s estate will last for the remainder of the 10 years.

Question 13

What is the duration of B’s estate (if any)?

O conveys to A for life. Then A conveys to B for 2 years. One month later A dies.

Answer 13

B’s estate ends when A dies.

Question 14

What is the duration of B’s estate (if any)?

O conveys to A and his heirs. Then A conveys to B for 2 years. One year later A dies.

Answer 14

B’s estate is unaffected by A’s death. B has one more year of possession left.

Question 15

What is the duration of B’s estate (if any)?

O conveys to A for life. In 1993, conveys to B for 2 years. A dies in 2001.

Answer 15

B’s estate ended in 1995.

Question 16

What is the duration of B’s estate (if any)?

O conveys to A and the heirs of her body. Then A dies, devising her entire estate to her husband, B. A has one child, C.

Answer 16

B has no estate. Upon the death of the holder, a fee tail passes automatically to the holder’s issue without regard to the terms of the holder’s will. C has the right to possession.

Question 17

What is the duration of B’s estate (if any)?

O conveys to A for life. Then A dies, devising her entire estate to B.

Answer 17

B has no estate. Upon the death of A, the life estate ended.

Question 18

For each person other than O, state whether that person has an interest in the property:

O to A and the heirs of his body. A has two sons (B and C) and two grandchildren (D and E).

Answer 18

A has an interest.

Question 19

For each person other than O, state whether that person has an interest in the property:

O to A and her heirs. A has a husband (B) and one child (C).

Answer 19

A has an interest.

Question 20

For each person other than O, state whether that person has an interest in the property:

O to A for the life of B.

Answer 20

A has an interest.

Question 21

For each person other than O, state whether that person has an interest in the property:

O to A. A has no husband and no children but has a living father and mother. (Assume modern law.)

Answer 21

A has an interest.

Question 22

For each person other than O, state whether that person has an interest in the property:

O to A for life. Then A conveys to B. B dies intestate with one heir, C.

Answer 22

C has an interest.

Question 23

After the conveyance, state what interest A has and whether someone other than A has an interest in the property. If so, who and why?

O to A for 2 years.

Answer 23

A has a term of years. O has the right to possession after A’s term of years ends.

Question 24

After the conveyance, state what interest A has and whether someone other than A has an interest in the property. If so, who and why?

O to A and the heirs of his body.

Answer 24

A has a fee tail. O has the right to possession after A’s issue die out.

Question 25

After the conveyance, state what interest A has and whether someone other than A has an interest in the property. If so, who and why?

O to A for life.

Answer 25

A has a life estate. O has the right to possession after A dies.

Question 26

After the conveyance, state what interest A has and whether someone other than A has an interest in the property. If so, who and why?

O to A and her heirs

Answer 26

A has a fee simple. No one else has a right to possession either now or in the future.

Question 27

After the conveyance, state what interest A has and whether someone other than A has an interest in the property. If so, who and why?

O to A for the life of B.

Answer 27

A has a life estate pur autre vie. O has the right to possession after B (the measuring life) dies.

Question 28

After the conveyance, state what interest A has and whether someone other than A has an interest in the property. If so, who and why?

O to A. (Assume modern law.)

Answer 28

A has a fee simple. No one else has a right to possession either now or in the future.

Question 29

“I have a 30-year lease on property located at Interstate Exit 109, and my lease allows me to build a building on the property. i want to use the property for a gas station, and I was about to talk to an architect about drawing up plans to build it. But I’ve just discovered that the deed of my lessor ( the man who leased me the property) says that he has something that is called a ‘life estate’ in the property. Should I be concerned?”

Answer 29

“Yes you should be concerned. If your lessor has only a life estate in the property, your lease will end when your lessor dies. Even if your lessor is young and healthy, accidents happen. You don’t want to invest a lot of money in improvements to the property without knowing whether you’ll be able to recoup the investment. The first thing to do is to confirm that your lessor has only a life estate. If so, you should find out who owns the other interests in the property. If you can negitioate a leasehold interest from all other owners, you can proceed safely. If not, you should reconsider.”

Question 30

“I have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and I want to arrange my financial affairs in preparation for my death. My husband and I live in my parents’ house which they devised to me when they died. I own the house in fee simple. I want to be sure my husband, who is disabled, can live in that house for the rest of his life. Upon his death, I want the house to go to my son by my first marriage. How can I arrange that?”

Answer 30

“You can grant your husband a life estate in the property now. Then you can devise to your son all your remaining interest in the property. If you don’t want to dispose of your possessory estate before you die, you can devise a life estate to your husband and devise all remaining interest to your son.”

Question 31

“My husband devised to me a life estate in the house he owned at his death. He devised all of the rest of his property to his son by his first marriage. I have been living in the house for the 10 years since he died. However, I am beginning to have health problems and I want to move to the town where my daughter and her family live. Yesterday I put a ‘For Rent’ sign in the front yard, and last night my husband’s son by his first marriage, Bob, called me. He said that I can’t rent the house. He said that if I move out, the house goes to him. But I need the rental income from the house because I’ll have to rent an apartment in my daughter’s town. Is Bob right?”

Answer 31

“No Bob isn’t right, and you can rent the house. When your husband devised all of his other property to Bob, Bob received the right to the house after you die. However, as long as you live, you have the possesory estate, and that right includes the right to lease it to someone else. If you were to die during the lease period, your tenant’s rights under the lease would end, though, so you’ll want to be candid with a prospective tenant about that possibility. As a practical matter, that possibility might affect your market and perhaps the amount of rent you can expect, but you may find a tenant who isn’t concerned about the possibility of having to move at some point.”