Quiz 1 Flashcards
- TRUE FALSE
O acquired ownership of the possessory fee simple absolute estate in and to a parcel of land that is commonly known as Greenacre. O deeded Greenacre “to A for life.” Subsequently, O died testate survived by A. O’s will devised Greenacre “to A’s heirs and their heirs.” Applying the Rule in Shelley’s Case, A owns the possessory fee simple absolute estate in and to Greenacre.
FALSE: The Rule in Shelley’s Case applies if there is use of one instrument by a transferor to convey a freehold estate (e.g., a life estate) and a contingent remainder to the heirs of the immediate transferees. Here, there are two instruments: (a) O’s deed to A, and (b) O’s will to “A’s heirs and their heirs.” Hence the one instrument requirement is not met in this situation. Furthermore, when O deeded the life estate to A, O retained a reversion to the fee simple absolute. Per O’s will, that reversion to the fee simple absolute was devised “to A’s heirs and their heirs.” Hence, O did not transfer a remainder to A’s heirs. If necessary, review pages 337 and 338 of the course text on which the authors list the four requirements that must be satisfied for the Rule in Shelley’s Case to apply in a jurisdiction where the Rule is in force. Also review, if needed, page 4 of the Week 4 Panels regarding the “Food for Thought” on page 338 of the course text.
- TRUE FALSE
O acquired ownership of the possessory fee simple absolute estate in and to a parcel of land that is commonly known as Blueacre. Subsequently, O conveyed Blueacre “to L for life, then to R provided that R gives L a proper funeral.” O conveyed a contingent remainder to R.
FALSE: A remainder is a future interest that is designed to become possessory immediately upon the natural expiration of a preceding estate. Here, the contingency of R providing “a proper funeral” for L cannot be satisfied until after L has died; the time at which L’s life estate will expire. The future interest O conveyed to R is designed to become possessory upon a divesting of a prior vested estate which means the future interest is an executory interest and not a remainder. If necessary, review pages 334 – 336 and the applicable portions of Supplement 11 of the Estates and Future Interests supplement packet.
- TRUE FALSE
The PIQ is located in California. O owned the possessory fee simple absolute estate in and to the PIQ. O deeded the PIQ to A “provided that A uses the PIQ as farmland.” Subsequently, O deeded “all of my interest in the PIQ” to X. The conveyance from O to X is void.
FALSE: O deeded a possessory fee simple subject to a condition subsequent to A and O retained a right of entry (aka, a power of termination) to the fee simple absolute estate in and to the PIQ. (If necessary, review page 312 of the course text). The statement would be true if the common law rule regarding the extent to which a right of entry/power of termination is transferable. Per the common law, a right of entry/power of termination cannot be conveyed by deed if the conveyance is not a release. If O had deeded O’s future interest to A, the conveyance would have been a release. O’s intended conveyance of O’s future interest to X is not a release. If necessary, review pp. 314 – 320. However, the aforementioned common law rule is not in force in California. Per California statutory law, future interests are transferable to the same extent and in the same manner possessory estates can be transferred. Thus, O’s conveyance to X is not void. If necessary, review page 41 of the Week 3 Panels and page 7 of Estates and Future Interests Supplement 11: “’Modernly,’ all future interests may be transferred in the same manner and to the same extent as possessory estates. (See CA Civ. Code § 699).”
- TRUE FALSE
S acquired fee simple absolute title to Greenacre. S conveyed Greenacre “to T in trust for the benefit of B for life, then to C.” B has an equitable life estate.
TRUE: If necessary, review Point for Discussion f on page 303 of the text.
- TRUE FALSE
Recently, O deeded land located in California “to A so long as A uses the land as a preschool and if A ceases to use the land as a preschool, then to B.” According to the statutory law of California, O deeded a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent to A and O retained a power of termination.
FALSE: O deeded a fee simple to an executory interest to A and a shifting executory interest to the fee simple absolute to B. O retained a reversion to the fee simple absolute. The statement would be true if O had not included the conveyance of the executory interest to B as part of O’s deed. If necessary, review pages 313 – 314, 325, 327, and 334 – 336 of the course text. If necessary, also review pages 2 and 3 of Estates and Future Interests Supplement 11.
- TRUE FALSE
To establish the tort of conversion, the plaintiff must prove the defendant committed an actual interference with either the plaintiff’s ownership of, or the plaintiff’s right of possession to, property.
TRUE: If necessary, review page 36 of the course text.
- TRUE FALSE
There are circumstances under which a person may enter upon the land of another person without permission of the landowner and not be a trespasser.
TRUE: If necessary, review pages 45 – 47 and 55 – 63 of the course text.
- TRUE FALSE
In its natural state, coal is real property.
TRUE: Land is material of the earth and land is real property. In its natural state, coal is material of the earth. Therefore, coal in its natural state is real property. If necessary, review pages 89 and 90 of the course text and pages 25 – 28 of the Week 1 Panels. If necessary, also review Property Concepts Supplement 1.
- TRUE FALSE
O conveyed “to X for fifty years if X lives that long.” O conveyed a life estate to X.
FALSE: O conveyed a defeasible term of years to X. If necessary, review the comments posted to the web course regarding problem (3) on page 304 of the text and then review, if necessary, pages 311 – 314 regarding defeasible estates.
- TRUE FALSE
A person’s right to destroy that person’s property during that person’s lifetime is broader in scope than that person’s right to destroy that person’s property testamentarily.
TRUE/FALSE: Prior to scoring the Quiz 1 packets, I determined that I had not crafted the subject statement as carefully as I needed to enable each student to determine with certainty whether the statement is a true statement or a false statement. Consequently, whether you circled true or you circled false as your answer to this statement you received 5 points. The excerpts of the majority opinion in the Eyerman v. Mercantile Trust Co. case, pp. 77 – 80, suggest that the statement is true. However, there is doubt as to whether that is a proposition that is universally applied as illustrated by a portion of Judge Clemens’ dissenting opinion and as further illustrated by portions of the Points for Discussion that are on pp. 81 – 86. The authors note at page 87 that: “The scope of an owner’s right to destroy is unclear. In practice, the law rarely intervenes to prevent destruction.” The text material indicates that whether a person wishes to destroy the person’s property during the person’s lifetime or effective as of the time of the person dies is not the sole factor a court will weigh to determine whether the person has a right to destroy under the situation at hand.
- Redacre is a parcel of land. Words of inheritance are not required to transfer a fee simple estate in land in the state in which Redacre is located. All other common law rules regarding transfers of estates in land are in force in the state. O acquired ownership of the possessory fee simple absolute estate in and to Redacre. Recently, O deeded Redacre “to X for life, then to Y if Y has become an attorney.” Y was a sophomore in high school at the time of O’s conveyance. Five years later, X died survived by O and Y. When X died, Y was a sophomore in college. Which one of the following statements is an accurate statement regarding the current state of the title to Redacre?
A. Y owns an executory interest to the fee simple absolute estate in and to Redacre.
B. O owns the possessory fee simple absolute estate in and to Redacre.
C. Y owns a contingent remainder to the fee simple absolute estate in and to Redacre.
D. O owns a possessory fee simple subject an executory limitation estate in and to Redacre.
ANSWER: B
At the time of O’s conveyance by deed to X and Y, O owned fee simple absolute title to Redacre. O conveyed life estate to X and a remainder to Y because the future interest O conveyed to Y was designed to become possessory when X dies. O transferred a contingent remainder to the fee simple absolute estate in Redacre to Y because in order for Y’s remainder to vest, Y must first become an attorney (a condition precedent to vesting). O retained a reversion to the fee simple absolute. Y had not become an attorney prior to X’s death. Hence, Y’s contingent remainder was destroyed by application of the common law Rule of Destructibility of Contingent Remainders because common law rules regarding conveyances of estates in real property are in force except that words of inheritance are not required to convey a fee simple estate. When Y’s contingent remainder was destroyed as of X’s death, O’s reversion to the fee simple absolute estate in Redacre became a possessory estate.
Statement A would be a correct statement if the Rule of Destructibility of Contingent Remainders was not in force in the jurisdiction. Statement C is not a correct statement for the reasons that Statement B is a correct statement. Statement D would be a correct statement if the Rule of Destructibility of Contingent Remainders was not in force in the jurisdiction.
- Which one of the following statements is the most accurate statement?
A. A determinable estate is one which will become terminable upon the happening or the non-happening of a particular event.
B. The jurisprudence of the United States includes the common law “first in time, first in right” doctrine which has been universally applied to all inhabitants of lands that are, or which became, part of the United States.
C. A landowner is entitled to punitive damages because of a trespass onto the land of the landowner only if the landowner can establish the trespass caused actual damage to the land.
D. A restraint on alienation of an interest that is repugnant to the interest is void.
ANSWER: D
Statement A is not an accurate statement. A determinable estate comes to an end automatically. If necessary, review page 311.
Statement B is not a correct statement because the common law “first in time, first in right” doctrine was not applied to the indigenous inhabitants of the lands that were subject matters of the dispute resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Johnson v. M’Intosh, pp. 27 – 32.
Statement C is not a correct statement as illustrated by the opinion of the court in the Jacque v. Steenberg Homes, Inc., pp. 47 – 53.
Statement D is a correct statement as noted by the court in the case of White v. Brown, pp. 298 – 301. Also review, if necessary, CA Civ. Code §711. I included comments about that code section in the course supplement regarding sources of laws as an example of a statute enacted to codify a common law rule.
- X acquired a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent estate in and to real property commonly known as Brownacre. In time, X deeded Brownacre “to Y and Y’s heirs, so long as Brownacre is used for agricultural purposes.” Which one of the following estates did X likely convey to Y?A. Fee Simple AbsoluteB. Fee Simple Subject to a Condition SubsequentC. Fee Simple DeterminableD. Fee Simple Subject to an Executory Limitation.
ANSWER: C
X had the power to convey the fee simple subject to a condition subsequent estate that X owned at the time of X’s conveyance to Y, or another estate other than the fee simple absolute estate. Hence, X had the power to convey another type of fee simple subject a condition subsequent estate or a fee simple determinable estate. The words “so long as” included in X’s deed to Y characterize the creation of a determinable estate. If necessary, review page 311 of the course text. The authors note that a “few jurisdictions have already abolished the fee simple determinable and the possibility of reverter. Any language that would be interpreted as creating either under the common law is treated as creating a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent or right of entry.” [Citing CA and KY statutory law to that effect.] Because a “few jurisdictions” have abolished the fee simple determinable and the corresponding future interest called the possibility of reverter, only a minority of states have abolished those estates. You were required to apply the majority view (i.e., the common law regarding the creation of defeasible estates) inasmuch as the call of the question is: Which estate did X “likely” convey to Y? X conveyed the fee simple determinable estate to Y in the majority of states because that would not be the case in only a few states.
- O acquired a possessory fee simple absolute estate in and to Blueacre. Thereafter, O deeded Blueacre “to X for life, then to R if A survives B.” Five years later, X died survived by O, R, A, and B. Applying the common law, which one of the following statements is the truest statement regarding the current state of the title to Blueacre?
A. O owns a possessory fee simple absolute estate in and to Blueacre.
B. O owns a possessory fee simple subject to an executory limitation in and to Blueacre.
C. R owns a possessory fee simple absolute estate in and to Blueacre.
D. R owns a possessory life estate in and to Blueacre.
ANSWER: A
As the owner of the possessory fee simple absolute estate in Blueacre, O had the power to convey the fee simple absolute estate or any lesser estate in Blueacre, or both. O deeded a possessory life estate X and a contingent remainder to the fee simple absolute in Blueacre to R. O retained a reversion to the fee simple absolute estate in Blueacre. The contingency for R’s remainder to vest was A surviving B. The contingency was not met by the time of X’s death (the time at which the life estate O conveyed to X expired) because A and B were alive when X died. R’s contingent remainder was terminated per the common law Rule of Destructibility of Contingent Remainders. At the same time, O’s reversion to the fee simple absolute in Blueacre became a possessory estate again.
- Which one of the following statements is the most accurate statement where the transferor owned the possessory fee simple absolute estate in the property in question at the time of the transfer?
A. W conveyed real property “to Y and the heirs of Y’s body.” W conveyed a fee tail estate to Y.
B. X conveyed real property “to B.” X conveyed a life estate to B.
C. Y conveyed real property “to C for life, then to C’s children.” C had two children at the time of Y’s conveyance; B and G. Y conveyed a vested remainder to B and G that is subject to partial divestment.
D. Z devised “my home to D to live in.” Z devised a life estate to D.
ANSWER: C
The words “the most accurate statement” requires application of the majority rule if there is a split of authority regarding the statement in question.
Statement A is an accurate statement in only four states. Hence, it is not an accurate statement under the laws of the other 46 states. If necessary, review page 308 – 310 of the course text and Estates and Future Interests Supplement 9.
Statement B is an accurate statement if the common law rule regarding the lack of inclusion of words of inheritance in the instrument of conveyance (e.g., “to B and B’s heirs”). However, that common law rule has been replaced by the rule that words of inheritance are not required to convey a fee simple estate. Rather, it is presumed that the transferor intended to transfer the entirety of the transferor’s interest in the property in the absence of the inclusion of words of limitation as to duration in the instrument of conveyance. If necessary, review pages 292 – 296 of the course text and Estates and Future Interests Supplement 5.
Statement D is not the most accurate statement because the words “to live in” do not limit the fee simple estate presumably devised to D by Z to D’s lifetime. The owner of a fee simple estate in a home can live in the home only for so long as the owner stays alive. However, that does not mean that the fee simple estate in the home ceases to exist when that person dies . A fee estate is an inheritable estate. A life estate is not an inheritable estate. If necessary, review pages 290 – 305 and corresponding course computer panels and course supplements.
Statement C is an accurate statement and is the most accurate statement as compared to statements A, B, and D. If necessary, review page 331 of the course text and page 3 of Estates and Future Interests Supplement 11 regarding vested remainders subject to open.
