Estates In Real Property Flashcards
A possessory interest gives…
a person the right to occupy a property
A non-possessory interest in a property gives…
someone the right to exercise some amount of control over the property without actually possessing it (easements, liens (including mortgages), and the government’s public regulations over land
When a land or real estate interest is described as a freehold estate, it means…
absolute ownership
The owner of a freehold estate is called a freehold tenant. Depending on the type of freehold estate, the freehold tenant may also have a right of
Disposition, or right to convey, the interest they own.
In North Carolina, freehold estates can be classified as
“estates of inheritance”
“life estates,” which exist only
For the term of a person’s life.
A fee simple estate is when
You absolutely own the home and can pass it along to whomever you wish.
Fee simple estates can be further broken down into
Absolute and defeasible estates.
An absolute estate is an estate.
Without restrictions, that is freely given to heirs.
A fee simple defeasible estate (or defeasible) is an estate characterized by
Conditions that – if violated – could make ownership null or void.
To run with the land means…
That the condition is attached to the property, not the owner, if the property is sold, the condition will also apply to the next owner.
An encumbrance is…
a restriction or limitation on a property that might be annoying or limiting to an owner.
There are two different kinds of defeasible estates:
Determinable
Condition subsequent
Their qualification as one or the other is determined by the language around the condition attached to the property.
A fee-simple determinable estate is
A type of fee simple defeasible estate which causes the title to automatically revert to the original owner if the deed requirements are violated. No legal action is required of the grantor to assume recovery of this kind of estate.
“It’s determined that ___ will regain the property if ___ happens.”
A fee simple condition subsequent estate is another type of defeasible fee estate. This is the same as a determinable estate in that it comes with specific requirements (or conditions).
The difference is that, for ownership to change, the grantor of the estate must…
Must prove (in court) that the defeasible fee estate condition has been violated. This MUST happen within a specific time frame. This change of ownership is NOT automatic, as is the case with a fee-simple determinable estate.
Right of reentry, which is…
The right to retake possession of the property.
Freehold estates can be broken down into
fee simple and life estates.
Fee simple estates can be broken down into
Absolute and defeasible estates.
Defeasible estates can be broken down into
Determinable and condition subsequent estates.
A life estate has a…
life tenant
The difference between a fee simple absolute estate and a life estate:
One has absolute ownership of the property and can do absolutely whatever they want with it; the other is a tenant.
The life tenant cannot give the estate to anyone else. When they die - or the “measuring life” (the life of another person) dies - the property goes back to the original owner or someone else the original owner has designated (aka the “reversioner” or the “remaindermen”).
EXAMPLE
Benjamin is a young man who owns a fee simple estate. He grants a life estate to his grandmother, Diana. When Diana dies, the estate goes back to Benjamin.
Estovers are what?
the life tenant’s rights to use the property’s resources
What is an act of waste?
When the life tenant damages the value of the property, thus damaging what the remaindermen get
Conventional life estates are…
Life estates granted by property owner
Legal life estates are…
Life estates granted through law
An ordinary conventional life estate is a…
Life estate where the measuring life is that of the life tenant
A pur autre vie conventional life estate is a…
Life estate where the measuring life is that of someone other than the tenant
Pur autre vie is an old-timey French phrase meaning…
Life of another.
If the life tenant in a pur atre vie conventional life estate dies, what happens?
The life tenant’s heirs inherit it until the measuring life dies.
The main difference between a legal life estate and a conventional life estate is that…
State law instead of a will from the owner
A homestead is a…
A legal life estate homestead is when someone transfers ownership of their home to another person (usually a family member) while keeping the right to live there for their lifetime. It lets them live in the home until they pass away, even though they don’t fully own it anymore.
Dower and curtesy is a…
Legal life estate that grants the spouse inheritance if the other spouse dies. Dower for men/curtesy for women
Elective share is…
The spouse’s right by law to make a percentage of the claim on the property despite what is within the will, but if they don’t, the property passes over to the heir or the applicable law.
In NC, how long must a couple be married for the elective share to be 50%?
15 years at least
A portion of property gotten in the context of elective share is sometimes called?
Marital life estate
Intestate succession is…
If there is no will dictating who gets what of property, the law steps in and says which portions go to whom depending on the closeness of the relationship to the dead person. in NC, that would be spouse first, then children, then blood relatives, and sometimes extending to first and second cousins.
What determines the specific rights/shares of the heirs in the context of intestate succession?
The closeness (not emotional, but logical) of the heir to the decedent (verified during the probate process.) For example, spouse, then children, then parents, and downward.