Ownership - Present Estates

Question 1

What are the types of present interests?

Answer 1

1. Fee
2. Life
3. Term

Question 2

Present Estates

Answer 2

• An estate is a freehold if immobile & for indeterminable duration
  
  • Immobile - Either land or some interest affixed to land
  • Indeterminable Duration - as opposed to a leasehold, which is a limited duration)
• Owner of present estate has the right to currently possess the property

Question 3

What is a Fee Simple Absolute?

Answer 3

• Absolute ownership of potentially infinite duration
• Freely alienable (easily bought or sold)
• No accompanying future interest
• A conveyance is presumed to be FSA unless terms express a contrary intent

Question 4

How is a FSA terminated?

Answer 4

Doesn’t term. unless owner dies intestate w/out heirs

• Prop. escheats to the state

Question 5

What is a defeasible fee estate?

Answer 5

• Potentially infinite duration
• Subj. to term. by the occurrence of an event

Question 6

What is a Fee Simple Determinable?

Answer 6

• Created When grantor uses durational language (until, while, so long as)
• Alienable, Devisable, and Descendible
• BUT always subj. to a stated condition

Question 7

How does a Fee Simple Determinable Terminate?

Answer 7

• Automatically on the happening of a stated event AND
• Reverts back to the grantor (possibility of reverter)

Question 8

What is the Future Interest associated with a Fee Simple Determinabel ?

Answer 8

Grantor retains possibility of reverter

• estate auto. reverts back to the grantor
• Freely alienable by grantor during life and upon his death

Question 9

What is a Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent?

Answer 9

• Present Fee Simple limited by specific conditional language
  
  • “upon condition that”, “provided that”, “but if”
• Alienable, Devisable, descendible

Question 10

How is Fee Simple Subj. to Cond. Subsequent Terminated?

Answer 10

• Grantor reserves the right to terminate estate upon happening of a stated event
• Grantor must affirmatively demonstrate intent to terminate

Question 11

Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent - Future Interest

Answer 11

RIght of Entry

• Grantor must explicitly retain the right to terminate the fee simple subj. to cond. subsequent
• Devisable, Descendible BUT can’t be transferred during owners lifetime

Question 12

What is a Fee Simple Subject to Executory Interest ?

Answer 12

• Created when grantor uses condition lang. or durational lang.
• If cond. or duration happens, then prop. int. granted reverts to a 3d party

Question 13

How is Fee Simple Subject to Executory Interest Terminated?

Answer 13

• When the occurrence of the specified condition occurs the present fee simple termiantes auto.
• Title passes to 3d party (not the grantor)

Question 14

Fee Simple Subj to Executory Interest - Future Interest

Answer 14

Executory Interest

Question 15

What is a Fee Tail?

Answer 15

Freehold estate that limits the estate to the grantee’s lineal blood descendants by specific words of limitation “heirs of the body”

• Eliminated in most states
• treated as a FSA estate

Question 16

What is a Life Estate ?

Answer 16

Present Possessory Estate limited in duratio by a life

• Lang. must be clear and measured in terms of a life not a number of years
• Fully transferable during the life of the pers. by whome the LE is measured
• If measured by grantees life, Not devisable or Descendible

Question 17

How is a Life Estate Terminated?

Answer 17

• Upon end of measuring life, title reverts to the grantor or specified remainderman

Question 18

What is the future Interest of a Life Estate?

Answer 18

• Reversion

Question 19

What is a life estate pur autre vie?

Answer 19

When LE measured by the life of a third party (not the grantee)

Question 20

What are a Life Tenant’s Rights/Duties?

Answer 20

• Right to Possess
• Right to collect rents/profits, lease/sell/mortgage,
• Must pay taxes on rental value of land
• Duty not to commit waste

Question 21

Doctrine of Waste

Answer 21

• Limits the Rights of a holder of a LE
• Life tenant must deliver property in same cond. it was in when she took poss.
• Future int. in prop. may enter the land & inspect for waste & seek damages & an injunction to prevent waste

Question 22

What is Affirmative Waste ?

Answer 22

A voluntary Act

• A tenant can’t intentionally or negligently damage prop. attached to it that would damage a person’s future interest in the prop.
• Occurs when Overt conduct causes decrease in prop value
• Can’t consume/exploit nat’l resources unless prior use
• Must make reasonable repairs

Question 23

What is permissive waste ?

Answer 23

The failure of a life tenant to protect the prop. from damage

• Must take reas. steps to guard against damage to the prop.
• when they fail to do so and damage results its perm. waste
• Must make reas. repairs (up to amount of income produced by the prop.)
• Must pay all prop. taxes & mortg. int.

Question 24

What is ameliorative waste?

Answer 24

Occurs when a change in use of the prop. increases its prop. value

• Life ten. can alter structures on the prop when a subst. & permanent change in the neighborhood makes it nec. in order to cont. reas. use of the prop.
• So long as prop. value is not diminished