Chapter Review
Interests in Land
An interest in real estate is ownership of any combination of the bundle of rights to real property, including the rights to:
- possess
- use
- transfer
- encumber
- exclude
Interests are principally distinguished by whether they include possession.
Estates in land
- include right of possession; also called tenancies
- leaseholds: of limited duration
- freeholds: duration is not necessarily limited
Freehold estates imply "ownership" in contrast to leasehold estates.
Fee simple estate
- also "fee"; most common form of estate; not limited by one's lifetime
- fee simple absolute: highest form of ownership interest
- defeasible: can revert to previous owner for violation of conditions
Life estate
- fee estate passes to another upon death of a named party
- remainder: interest of a named party to receive estate after holder's death
- reversion: interest of previous owner to receive estate after holder's death
Conventional life estate
- full ownership interest, limited to lifetime of life tenant or another named party
- created by agreements between parties
- ordinary: on death of life tenant, passes to remainderman or previous owner
- pur autre vie: on death of another; passes to remainderman or previous owner
Legal life estate
- automatic creation of estate through operation of law
- designed to protect family survivors
- homestead: rights to one's principal residence
- homestead laws protect homestead from certain creditors
- dower and curtesy: a life estate interest of a widow(er) in the real property
- elective share: right to claim deceased spouse's property in lieu of will