Property Law

1
Property Law

• Estates and Future Interests
• Boston College Law School
• October 31, 2005

2
Policy Issues

• Basic Issue
• To what extent should landowners be able to
  attach conditions to grants of property?
• Questions
• Why give landowners this power at all?
• History
• Greater power includes lesser power
• Promote alienation and control
• Why not give landowners unlimited power to attach
  conditions?
• Hinders freedom of current possessors (dead hand
  control)
• Inefficient prevents land from moving to most
  efficient current use
• May lead to unhealthy concentrations of wealth

3
Estates in Land

• Fee simple
• Fee simple absolute
• Fee simple determinable
• Fee simple subject to condition subsequent
• Fee simple subject to executory limitation
• Life estate
• Fee tail
• Leasehold

4
Fee Simple Estates

• Fee simple absolute
• O to A and his heirs or O to A
• Future interest none
• Fee simple determinable
• O to A, so long as used for residential
  purposes
• Future interest possibility of reverter
• Fee simple subject to condition subsequent
• O to A, so long as used for residential
  purposes, but if not so used, O shall have a
  right of re-entry
• Future interest right of re-entry
• Fee simple subject to executory limitation
• O to A, so long as used for residential
  purposes, and then to B
• Future interest executory interest

5
Life Estates

• Life estate w/ reversion
• O to A for life
• Future interest reversion
• Life state w/ remainder
• O to A for life, then to B
• Future interest remainder
• Contingent remainder
• O to A for life, then to B if B graduates from
  college
• O to A for life, then to Bs children if B has
  no children yet
• Vested remainder
• Absolutely vested (O to A for life, then to B)
• Vested subject to open (O to A for life, then to
  Bs kids if B has kids)
• Vested subject to divestment (O to A for life,
  then to B, but if B has flunked out of law
  school, then the property shall revert to O)

6
Other Estates

• Fee tail
• O to A and the heirs of his body
• Future interest reversion or remainder
• Leasehold
• O to A for 10 years
• Future interest reversion or remainder

7
Regulation of Estates

• Limitations on forms of conveyances
• Striking down certain conveyances
• Rule against perpetuities
• Rule against restraints on alienation
• Rules supported by public policy
• Statutory regulation
• Interpreting conveyances