State of Title Problems Flashcards
O gives Blackacre “to A and her heirs, but if the old oak tree falls, O may enter and take the property back.”
A has a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent. O has a right of entry in fee simple absolute.
O gives Blackacre “to A for life.” Then A gives his interest to B. What is the state of title after A’s conveyance?
B has an indefeasibly vested life estate pur autre vie (measured by the life of A). O has a reversion in fee simple absolute
O gives Blackacre “to A and her heirs, but if the old oak tree falls while A is still alive, Z may enter and take the property back.”
A has a fee simple subject to executory limitation. Z has an executory interest in fee simple.
O gives Blackacre “to A for life, then to B and her heirs if B attains the age of 21 before A dies.”
A has an indefeasibly vested life estate.
B has a contingent remainder in fee simple. O has a reversion in fee simple.
O gives Blackacre “to A for life, but if the old oak tree falls, O may re-enter and re-take the premises.”
A has a life estate subject to a condition subsequent.
O has two interests: a reversion in fee simple (that is certain to be possessory) and a right of entry for life (that may divest A of her life estate early depending on the happening of the condition and whether O acts to re-take Blackacre at that time).
O gives Blackacre “to A for life, then to A’s heirs.”
A has an indefeasibly vested life estate.
A’s (unidentified) heirs have a contingent remainder in fee simple (“in the clouds”).
O has a (technical) reversion in fee simple. (Remember that someone always has to hold seisin in the estate. For example, if A’s life estate ever ended by operation of law before A’s actual death, A would still not have any heirs determined and so the unknown heirs’ contingent remainder could not yet vest at the legal end of A’s life estate. Thus, O would have to take by reversion in the meantime.)
O gives Blackacre “to A for life, then to B and her heirs, but if A graduates from law school, then, on the graduation, to C.”
A has a life estate subject to an executory limitation.
B has a vested remainder in fee simple subject to divestment (by C’s executory interest). C has an executory interest in fee simple absolute.
O gives Blackacre “to A and her heirs until C graduates from law school.”
A has a fee simple determinable.
O has a possibility of reverter in fee simple absolute
O gives Blackacre “to A for life, then to B for life.” O subsequently dies with a will devising all of O’s property to C. What is the state of title as of O’s death?
A has an indefeasibly vested life estate.
B has a vested remainder for life.
C has a reversion in fee simple absolute. (Note, this interest started as a reversion in O, and it does not change type when it is subsequently devised to a different party, C.)
O gives Blackacre “to A and his heirs while it is not used for agricultural purposes.”
A has a fee simple determinable.
O has a possibility of reverter in fee simple absolute.
O gives Blackacre “to A and his heirs, but if the property is no longer being used for agricultural purposes, to B and his heirs.”
A has a fee simple subject to executory limitation. B has an executory interest in fee simple absolute
O gives Blackacre “to A for life, then to B if B survives A, then to C if B does not survive A.”
A has an indefeasibly vested life estate.
B and C have alternative contingent remainders in fee simple absolute.
O has a technical reversion (the need for which is especially apparent here if you consider what happens if A’s life estate somehow ends before A dies).
O gives Blackacre “to A for life, and on A’s death, to B and his heirs.”
A has an indefeasibly vested life estate.
B has a vested remainder in fee simple absolute.
(Note that “on A’s death” is not a condition precedent – just a reference to natural termination of the preceding estate that would have applied even without this extraneous language. If you think about this hard enough, it may start to seem like O should also have a technical reversion here too because of the possibility that A’s life estate could end before A’s death; however, because “on A’s death” is interpreted as surplusage here and not a condition precedent, it does not have that effect.)
O gives Blackacre “to A when A has a child.” A has no children.
O has a fee simple subject to executory limitation. A has an executory interest in fee simple
O gives Blackacre “to A for life, then to B’s children and their heirs.” B has two children, X and Z
A has an indefeasibly vested life estate.
X and Z have vested remainders in fee simple subject to open.
Unborn children of B have executory interests in fee simple (“in the clouds”)
