Estates and Future Interests

Question 1

Total ownership end of the spectrum

Answer 1

Fee simple absolute

Question 2

If I lease my land to Mr. X, who owns it?

Answer 2

Mr. X’s interest in the land includes the right of present possession. He has the right to be there and live there and use the land as set forth in the lease. But what happens to that interest in land once the lease expires? That interest in the land reverts back to me once Mr. X’s lease is up.

But for now, and for as long as the lease is in effect, Mr. X has a present possessory interest in the land. Because I still have an interest in possessing the land once Mr. X’s lease is up, I have a future interest in the land. I own the right to future possession. In fact, I have a present interest (that is, a current interest) in future possession.​

Question 3

How do we determine what O transferred to A?

Answer 3

1-Identify the basic estate that O transferred to A.
2- Determine whether the estate is modified or unmodified.
3- If it is modified, determine how it is modified.
4- Name it.

Once you know what O has transferred to A, you then determine what’s left, determine who holds it, and accurately name it.​

Question 4

What words indicate a fee simple absolute?

Answer 4

To his/her heirs

Question 5

O to A and his/her heirs

Answer 5

Fee simple absolute

Question 6

O to A for life

Answer 6

Life estate

Question 7

What is a life estate?

Answer 7

My estate is potentially infinite to start but I give a piece of it to someone else for the duration of their life, it may return back to me or my heirs

Question 8

O to A for as long as B lives

Answer 8

Life estate pur autre vie

Question 9

O to A for 10 years

Answer 9

term of years

Question 10

O to A and the heirs of her body

Answer 10

Fee tail female (can also be male)

Question 11

O to A and their issue

Answer 11

Fee tail

Question 12

What is the duration of a fee tail?

Answer 12

Until the bloodline ends

Question 13

What is the duration of a life estate?

Answer 13

Until that person dies

Question 14

What is the duration of fee simple absolute?

Answer 14

Potentially infinite

Question 15

Reversion

Answer 15

A reversion is the future interest that the grantor retains when the estate that the grantor granted is one that terminates naturally (that is, not by the happening of any specific condition).

Question 16

Types of Estates that are subject to reversion

Answer 16

Life estate, fee tail, and fee for a term of years are examples of estates that terminate naturally

Question 17

Possibility of Reverter

Answer 17

A possibility of reverter arises when what O granted to A is some form of determinable estate, where there is a condition upon which the estate returns to the grantor. What the grantor has left is called a possibility of reverter.

Question 18

Types of estates subject to possibility of reverter

Answer 18

any type of determinable estate—fee simple determinable, life estate determinable, or fee tail determinable

Question 19

Right of Reentry/Power of Termination

Answer 19

A right of reentry (right of entry, power of termination, right to retake, etc.) arises when O has granted A any estate in a “subject to a condition subsequent” form, meaning that should the condition occur O may exercise an option to reenter and retake possession of the estate. The right of reentry is a future interest that the grantor creates for themselves and it depends on circumstances and language.

Question 20

Types of estates subject to right of reentry/power of termination

Answer 20

It can occur with a fee simple subject to condition subsequent, a life estate subject to condition subsequent, etc.​

Question 21

The three ways each type of estate can be modified

Answer 21

determinable, subject to condition subsequent, subject to executory limitation

Question 22

If O transfers a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent, what is the future interest?

Answer 22

Right of entry/power of termination

Question 23

If O transfers a fee simple determinable, what is the future interest?

Answer 23

Possibility of reverter

Question 24

If O transfers a fee subject to executory limitation, what is the future interest?

Answer 24

No future interest in O (it’s with a third party)

Question 25

What is a remainder?

Answer 25

Future interests that follow the termination of estates that terminate naturally

Question 26

Two basic types of remainders

Answer 26

Vested remainder, Contingent Remainder

Question 27

A remainder is vested when…

Answer 27

1) the grantee is an ascertainable person, and 2) there are no conditions precedent to that person taking the estate

Question 28

A remainder is contingent when…

Answer 28

1) there is a condition precedent to the grantee taking the estate, or 2) the grantee is unascertainable

Question 29

If O owns a fee simple absolute, what are three ways she could convey part of it- a smaller estate- to A?

Answer 29

1) vested remainder 2) Contingent Remainder with unascertainable remainder, 3) Contingent remainder with unsatisfied condition precedent

Question 30

What is B receiving if “O to A for life, and then to B””?

Answer 30

Vested remainder

Question 31

What are B’s heirs receiving if “O to A for life, and then to B’s heirs”?

Answer 31

contingent remainder with unascertainable remainder

Question 32

What is B receiving if “O to A for life, and then to B if B marries C” and B has not married?

Answer 32

contingent remainder with unsatisfied condition precedent

Question 33

Three types of vested remainders

Answer 33

indefeasibly vested, subject to open, subject to divestment

Question 34

When is a vested remainder indefeasibly vested?

Answer 34

when it is created in an ascertainable person and not subject to a condition precedent

Question 35

When is a vested remainder subject to divestment?

Answer 35

when it is subject to a condition and could cause the interest to be taken away or lost before the grantee ever gets it

Question 36

When is a vested remainder subject to executory limitation?

Answer 36

when it is subject to a condition that could cut short the interest only after or during the time that remainderman is in possession of the estate.

Question 37

What is an executory interest?

Answer 37

If you’ve got a future interest in a grantee, and it’s not a remainder, then it’s an executory interest

Question 38

When does an interest spring?

Answer 38

An interest springs from the preceding estate, if that estate was in the grantor.​

Question 39

When does an interest shift?

Answer 39

An interest shifts from the preceding estate, if that estate was in a grantee.​