Possessory Estates Flashcards
Estates System
Ways of having an interest (ownership) in land
– exclusive labels of ownership
Freehold Estates
** Freehold estates have rights of exclusive possession and Seisin(status and obligation related to your ownership)**
1) Fee Estates - closest to theory of ownership; you have potentially INFINITE interest in the property
a) FSA
b) Defeasible Fee
c) Fee Tail
2) Life Estates
Non Freehold Estates
Lease - transfer of exclusive ownership for a fixed period of time
Present and Future Interests
- All present interest will have a future interest (reversion or remainder)
- THERE MUST ALWAYS BE A FUTURE INTEREST!!! The last possible interest MUST BE FSA
**NO future interest after FSA
Reversion
the land reverts back to original owner
O to A for life, the back to O (or his heirs/his will)
Remainder
O to A, then to B
Intervivos Conveyance
intentional conveyance btwn two living people; through a deed (nothing oral!)
Devise
intentionally passing real property by will
Descent
inheriting property (not from a will) through the laws of intestate possession
Intestate
dying without a will
Heirs
group of people who will take your property upon your death if you die intestate (you have heirs once you’re dead)
Escheat
gov’t gets the property IF you own it, don’t have a will, don’t have heirs
Fee Simple Absolute (FSA)
- O to A; O to A and his heirs; O to A in FSA
All interest transfers, can last forever ∞; no future interest
- this gives heirs no interest (regardless of the wording “and his heirs”) unless “then his heirs”;, this gives future interest
Defeasible Fee
Can potentially last forever but has a condition for that potential
Fee Tail
Rare**
Transferring property so it will pass IN A CERTAIN WAY forever (potentially)
Life Estates
-O to A for life, not ∞; will revert back to O when A dies (O has FSA)
“to A” - words of purchase
“for life” - words of limitation
Per autre vie
For/by another life
- if A gives B A’s life estate, when A dies, B loses life estate and it reverts back to O
White v. Brown
Construing A Will
– look at wording and intent of testator
“O to A to live in and not to be sold”
- “not to be sold” –> restriction on alienability is VOID and INVALID
- -“to live in”
- -> just a description of why she’s giving her the land
– Construe that ALL property is transferred (FSA)
Permissive Waste
Omission; (i.e. not completing repairs)
– imposes duty on present owner to act to preserve for the future owner
(not paying property taxes is also seen as permissive waste)
Affirmative Waste
Commission that will be construed as improperly acting on B’s rights and future interests
** prevents A from exploiting long term resources and depriving B of them
EXCEPTIONS - open mines doctrine (if mining was already happening, you may continue) & good Husbandry (take care of the land)
Ameliorative Waste
Changing the property (even if increasing the value)
