Property PResent and Future Interest Flashcards
What are heirs?
Those entitled by law to inherit the property if the owner dies intestate.
Intestate refers to dying without a will.
What are devisees?
Those entitled to real property under a will.
What does escheat mean?
If no relatives qualify as heirs, the property will escheat to the state.
What is a future interest?
Future interests exist the moment they are created even though the holder has no right to possess the property until the triggering event occurs.
What is dead hand control?
Owners may seek to control who owns property long after they die.
What is social hierarchy in the context of property?
A concern that imposing restraints on alienation and use will concentrate ownership in certain groups.
What is a reversion?
A future interest retained by the grantor when they give a lesser estate than what they originally held.
What is the possibility of reverter?
The grantor’s future interest in a fee simple determinable estate that automatically returns upon a condition’s violation.
What is the right of entry (power of termination)?
The grantor retains the right to decide whether to retake the property upon violation of a condition.
What is an executory interest?
Any interest not in the grantor that cuts short an estate before its natural termination.
What is a life estate?
Present ownership rights can be held during the life of a designated individual.
What is a life estate for the life of another (Pur Autre Vie)?
A life estate measured by the lifetime of someone other than the holder of the estate.
What is a vested remainder?
A remainder that is certain to go to a known person upon the termination of a prior estate.
What is a contingent remainder?
A remainder that depends on a condition before becoming possessory.
What is a class gift?
A remainder granted to a group that is merely described but not named.
What is the rule of destructibility of contingent remainders?
The law formerly provided that contingent remainders were destroyed if they did not vest before the preceding life estate ended.
What is the rule in Shelley’s case?
A rule that converted a life estate followed by a remainder to the grantee’s heirs into a fee simple.
What is the doctrine of worthier title?
A future interest in a grantor’s heirs was interpreted as an interest in the grantor instead.
What is the doctrine of merger?
If the same person holds both a life estate and the next vested estate, the two estates merge into a fee simple.
What is a fee simple absolute?
A fee simple without any associated future interest.
What is a fee simple determinable?
A fee simple that automatically reverts to the grantor if a specified condition is violated.
What is a fee simple subject to condition subsequent?
A fee simple where the grantor retains the right to reclaim the property if a condition is violated.
What is a fee simple subject to executory limitation?
A fee simple that automatically transfers to a third party if a condition is violated.
What are fee simple estates?
Estates that could potentially last forever, including fee simple absolute, fee simple determinable, and fee simple subject to condition subsequent.
What are words of purchase?
Language in a conveyance that identifies who owns the property.
What are words of limitation?
Language in a conveyance that describes the kind of estate owned.
What are defeasible fees?
Present interests that terminate upon the happening of a specified event, other than the death of the current owner.
What is a fee tail?
A form of ownership that restricts inheritance to the lineal descendants of the original grantee.
What is the reversion rule?
If a grantor gives a lesser estate than they originally held and does not specify who takes after, the property reverts to the grantor.
What is a springing executory interest?
An executory interest that follows an estate in the grantor.
What is a shifting executory interest?
An executory interest that cuts short an estate in someone other than the grantor.
What is the rule of convenience?
A rule that closes a class gift when the prior estate ends so that the class members can take possession immediately.
What are terms of years?
An estate limited by a specific period of time, rather than a natural life or event.
What does ‘subject to open’ mean?
A remainder that is vested in a group, but more members can join the group in the future.
What does ‘subject to divestment’ mean?
A vested remainder that can be lost if a specific condition occurs.
What is laches?
A legal doctrine preventing a party from asserting a claim if they have unreasonably delayed in asserting their rights.
What is a present estate?
A property interest that gives the holder an immediate right to possess the property.
What does possessory mean?
A present estate that gives the owner an immediate right to occupy and use the property.
What does intestate mean?
Dying without a will, in which case the estate is distributed according to state law.
What is a testator/testatrix?
A testator is a male who makes a will; a testatrix is a female who makes a will.
What is a trust?
A legal arrangement in which one person or entity holds title to property for the benefit of another.
