Present Estates

Question 1

Fee Simple Absolute

Answer 1

The most unrestricted and longest estate.

It is inheritable, thus an owner in a fee simple who dies, that property automatically gets passed to his heirs.

TRIGGERS
O to convey Blackacre “to A and his heirs”
O to convey Blackacre “to A”

Question 2

Fee Simple Determinable

Answer 2

..Is a fee simple, which automatically comes to an end when a stated event occurs (or fails to occur). Most often, it is used to prevent the property from being put to a certain use.

TRIGGERS
Words with a “durational aspect” typically trigger a fee simple determinable.
O to convey “to A so long as A doesn’t bring prostitutes on the premises”

Question 3

Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent

Answer 3

…Is also geared toward the occurrence or nonoccurrence of some event, however upon the happening (or non-happening) of the event the property does NOT automatically revert, but the grantor has the right of re-entry (or take back the property, he MUST exercise this right to get back his property).

TRIGGERS
Words that have a “conditional flavor” typically create a fee simple subject to condition subsequent.

O to convey “to A upon the express condition he punts C’s puppy.”

Question 4

Fee Simple Subject to Executory Limitation

Answer 4

Provides for the Estate to pass to a third person upon the happening of the stated event.

TRIGGERS
O to convey “to A and his heirs, but if A dies without children, then to B and his heirs”

Question 5

The Life Estate

Answer 5

Is an interest, which lasts for the lifetime of a person. Ordinarily, the lifetime by which the life estate is measured is that of the holder.

Also note, a life estate can be defeasible, just as a fee simple may be.

TRIGGERS
O conveys “to A for life.”

O conveys “to A for life, then to B and his heirs.”

Question 6

The owner of a present estate in land either actually _____ the land or has the _______.

Answer 6

The owner of a present estate in land either actually (POSSESSES) the land or has (THE PRESENT RIGHT TO POSSESS IT).

Question 7

There are three types of present estates:

1)
2)
3)

Answer 7

The three types of present estates:

[1] the fee simple
[2] the fee tail (no longer used)
[3] the life estate (also note “Term of Years”).

Question 8

What type of present interest would the below refer to?

The most unrestricted and longest estate.

Answer 8

Fee Simple Absolute

Question 9

The below would be a conveyance of what kind of present interest?

O to convey “to A upon the express condition he punts C’s puppy.”

Answer 9

Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent

Question 10

The below would be a conveyance of what kind of present interest?

O conveys “to A for life, then to B and his heirs.”

Answer 10

The Life Estate

Question 11

The below would be a conveyance of what kind of present interest?

O to convey “to A until B loses his virginity”

Answer 11

Fee Simple Determinable

Question 12

The below would be a conveyance of what kind of present interest?

O to convey Blackacre “to A and his heirs”

Answer 12

Fee Simple Absolute

Question 13

The below would be a conveyance of what kind of present interest?

O to convey “to A and his heirs, but if A dies without children, then to B and his heirs”

Answer 13

Fee Simple Subject to Executory Limitation

Question 14

The below would be a conveyance of what kind of present interest?

O to convey “to A so long as A doesn’t eat potatoes on the premises”

Answer 14

Fee Simple Determinable

Question 15

The below would be a conveyance of what kind of present interest?

O to convey “to A, but if A is gay and is married to a man when he dies, then to B and his heirs”

Answer 15

Fee Simple Subject to Executory Limitation

Question 16

What type of present interest would the below refer to?

____ provides for the estate to pass to a third person upon the happening of the stated event.

Answer 16

Fee Simple Subject to Executory Limitation

Question 17

What type of present interest would the below refer to?

______ is a fee simple, which automatically comes to an end when a stated event occurs (or fails to occur). Most often, it is used to prevent the property from being put to a certain use.

Answer 17

Fee Simple Determinable

Question 18

What type of present interest would the below refer to?

_______ is geared toward the occurrence or nonoccurrence of some event, however upon the happening (or non-happening) of the event the property does NOT automatically revert, but the grantor has the right of re-entry (or take back the property, he MUST exercise this right to get back his property).

Answer 18

Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent

Question 19

Does the Rule Against Perpetuities apply to Fee Simple Determinable?

Answer 19

No, the Rule Against Perpetuities does not apply to Fee Simple Determinable.

Question 20

Does the Rule Against Perpetuities apply to Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent?

Answer 20

No, the Rule Against Perpetuities does not apply to Fee Simple Condition Subsequent.

Question 21

Does the Rule Against Perpetuities apply to Fee Simple Subject to Executory Limitation?

Answer 21

Yes! The Rule Against Perpetuities applies to Fee Simple Subject to Executory Limitation.

Question 22

Does Fee Simple Determinable have a possibility of Reverter?

Answer 22

Yes, Fee Simple Determinable has a possibility of Reverter.

Question 23

Fill in the blank: In an instrument of conveyance such as a deed, a “fee simple subject to a condition subsequent” is usually created through the use of __________________ language.

A. Temporal or durational
B. Conditional
C. Exclusionary
D. Temporary
E. Foreign

Answer 23

b. Conditional

What language may a grantor include in a deed, in order to give rise to a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent? As the name implies, an instrument giving rise to this estate usually casts the transfer in “conditional” language. For example, the deed might state that the grantor conveys the property “subject to,” or “conditioned upon,” the occurrence of a specified event.

Question 24

______________ is defined as “[a]n estate that will automatically end and revert to the grantor [usually in fee simple absolute] if some specified event occurs.” (Black’s Law Dictionary)

Answer 24

Fee Simple Determinable

Question 25

What is meant by the phrase: “possibility of reverter”?

Answer 25

A “possibility of reverter” means that, at the precise moment the specified event occurs, the property reverts automatically to the grantor (usually in fee simple absolute), without the need for the grantor to take any further action. See Black’s Law Dictionary (9th Ed. 2009), fee simple determinable.

Question 26

Which of the following fee simple estates is indefeasible?

A. Fee simple determinable
B. Fee simple absolute
C. Fee simple subject to a condition subsequent
D. All of the above
E. None of the above

Answer 26

B. Fee Simple Absolute

The “fee simple absolute” is indefeasible—that is, it will not terminate and revert to someone other than the owner upon the happening of a specific event. See Restatement of Property §§ 14-15, comment a. By contrast, both the “fee simple determinable” and the “fee simple subject to a condition subsequent” are defeasible estates, because both may terminate and revert to someone other than the owner (often the prior owner) upon the happening of a specific event. See Black’s Law Dictionary (9th Ed. 2009), fee simple determinable, fee simple subject to a condition subsequent.

Question 27

What kind of interest is conveyed by a deed that might state the grantor conveys the property “subject to,” or “conditioned upon,” the occurrence of a specified event?

Answer 27

Fee Simple Subject to a Condition Subsequent

Question 28

Fill in the blank:

A life estate is a ___________ interest in property.

A. Future
B. Past
C. Present
D. Present perfect
E. Future perfect

Answer 28

C. Present

A life estate is a present interest in property, since it affords the holder the right to possess, occupy, and use the property now, to the exclusion of all others—including the holder of the corresponding future interest.

Question 29

Unless the instrument of conveyance explicitly specifies otherwise, a life estate is typically measured by the lifetime of whom?

A. The lifetime of the conveyer
B. The lifetime of the person to whom the land is conveyed
C. The lifetime of a related 3rd party
D. There is no rule. It is always varied

Answer 29

B. The lifetime of the person to whom the land is conveyed.

Unless the instrument of conveyance explicitly specifies otherwise, a life estate is typically measured by the lifetime of the person to whom it is conveyed at the moment of its creation.

Question 30

True or false: The life tenant may make absolutely no changes to the property without the consent of the holder of the remainder or reversion.

Answer 30

False.

The general rule against waste does not prohibit the life tenant from making any or all changes to the property. The precise extent to which the life tenant may make such changes is often cast in terms of a balancing test. The greater the extent to which the proposed change would decrease, or threaten to decrease, the value of the property, the less likely it is that the change will be permitted.

Question 31

To which of the following interests may remainders and reversions correspond?

A. Fee tail
B. Life estate
C. Leasehold
D. All of the above

Answer 31

D. All of the above

Remainders and reversions can actually correspond to any of three different types of present interests: Namely, life estates, leaseholds, and fee tails.

Question 32

Moses owns Redacre in fee simple absolute. Moses executes a deed conveying Redacre “to Joshua for life, remainder to Caleb, but only if Caleb visits Egypt at least once before Joshua’s death.”

What precise interest in Redacre has Moses conveyed to Caleb?

A. Vested remainder subject to open
B. Vested remainder subject to complete divestment
C. Indefeasibly vested remainder
D. Contingent remainder
E. Fee simple determinable

Answer 32

D. Contingent Remainder

Moses has conveyed a contingent remainder to Caleb.

A remainder is “vested” when: (I) It is granted to a person who (A) is born, and (B) whose identity can be presently ascertained. (II), there must be no conditions precedent to the complete transfer of the remainder to the remainderman—that is to say, there must be no future event that needs to happen before the remainderman will be recognized as having all the rights of a remainderman in the subject property.

Any remainder that fails to meet any of these requirements is a “contingent” remainder, which will not become vested until some future event takes place.

Question 33

Declan owns Brownacre in fee simple absolute. On January 1, 2014, Declan conveys Brownacre “to Saul for life, and then one month after Saul’s death, to Hank.”

True or false: Hank has a true remainder.

Answer 33

False.

A true remainder must meet three basic requirements, one of which is that the remainder must become possessory the very instant that the corresponding present interest expires. There can be no gap between the expiration of the present interest and the ripening of the remainder into possession.

Question 34

True or false: A true remainder will never cut the corresponding future interest short prematurely.

Answer 34

True.

One inevitable characteristic of a true remainder is that it never takes effect until the natural expiration of the corresponding present interest—that is, it never cuts the corresponding present interest short.

Question 35

Fill in the blank: If a future interest, created in favor of a grantee, is not a remainder, then it must be a/an ___________________.

A. Contingent remainder
B. Reversion
C. Executory interest
D. Possibility of reverter
E. Right of entry

Answer 35

c. Executory Interest

Any future interest in favor of a grantee must either be a remainder or an executory interest. Restatement of Property § 158, comment a. Thus, any future interest in favor of a grantee, which does not have all the characteristics of a remainder, is an executory interest.

Question 36

Paul conveys Greenacre “to Silas, but only if Silas checks himself into rehab for his diet cola addiction.”

What estate does Paul have in Greenacre, between the time of the conveyance and the time Silas’ executory interest ripens into possession?

A. Fee simple determinable

B. Conditional fee simple subject to an executory limitation

C. Determinable fee simple subject to an executory limitation

D. Fee simple subject to a condition subsequent

Answer 36

B. Conditional fee simple subject to an executory limitation

An executory interest may (and often does) follow a defeasible fee simple estate.

Whenever an executory interest follows a defeasible fee simple estate, the fee simple estate is either a determinable or conditional fee simple subject to an executory limitation. Id. Here’s how we tell whether the fee simple subject to an executory limitation is determinable or conditional: A determinable fee simple subject to an executory limitation arises in similar fashion to a plain old fee simple determinable—the grant of the fee simple estate is followed by durational language, like “until” or “so long as.” A conditional fee simple subject to an executory limitation arises in similar fashion to a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent—that is, the grant of the fee simple estate is followed by conditional language, like “but if” or “on condition that.”

Obviously, Paul’s fee simple estate here is a conditional fee simple subject to an executory limitation. He conveyed Greenacre “to Silas, but only if Silas checks himself into rehab for his diet cola addiction.” Silas’ succession to possession and ownership of Greenacre is therefore conditioned upon his checking himself into rehab, and so on. Therefore, B is the correct answer choice.

Question 37

True or False: An executory interest may, and often does, prematurely terminate a preceding present possessory estate—that is, the executory interest divests the present estate before it would naturally expire.

Answer 37

True.

An executory interest almost always terminates the immediately preceding possessory estate prior to the natural expiration of that estate. For example, it may terminate a life estate prior to the end of the relevant measuring life, or it may terminate a fee simple estate somewhere short of infinity.