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