The Concept of Property Related to Wills, Trusts, and Estate Administration Chapter 1

Property Real Property Personal Property Immovable, fixed, or permanent For example: buildings, land, trees Personal Property Movable For example: cars, boats, furniture

Real Property Realty or Real Estate Fixture Immovable Affixed to land or buildings Growing on land Fixture Something so attached to land or a structure as to be deemed a part of it

Transfer Deed A written document signed by the grantor and conveying title to real property to the grantee Grantor A person who conveys property to another Grantee A person to whom real property is conveyed

Personal Property Chattel Movable Tangible Intangible Property that has a physical existence and can be touched For example: cars, boats, jewelry Intangible Property that has no physical existence For example: cash, stocks and bonds, digital assets

Estate All property owned by a person while alive or by decedent at the time of death Probate Property Property subject to estate administration Nonprobate Property Transferred without estate administration Transferred by operation of law, e.g., life insurance benefits

Forms of Property Ownership Tenants in Severalty Concurrent Ownership Joint tenancy Tenants in common Tenants in the entirety Community property

Tenants in Severalty Ownership by One Person Probate Property

Joint Tenancy Ownership by Two or More Persons Right of Survivorship Ownership passes by operation of law without probate Unities of time, title, interest, and possession Undivided ownership interest

Tenants in Common Unity of possession Each owner controls his/her interest and establishes a right to take or control the whole property and share in its profits

Partition A remedy for a division of real property held by joint tenants or tenants in common so that the individuals can hold title in severalty

Tenants by Entirety A form of joint tenancy available only to a husband and wife Right of survivorship Added bonus: Creditors of an individual may not seize property of the tenancy because the entirety is considered to be one entity

Community Property All property, other than property received by gift, will, or inheritance, acquired by either spouse during the marriage Considered to be owned by both spouses equally Adopted by nine states; optional in Alaska

Separate Property Property owned by the husband or wife prior to their marriage OR Property acquired during the marriage by gift, will, or inheritance

Estates in Real Property Freehold An estate in real property of uncertain duration, e.g., a life estate Fee Simple An absolute, unqualified, and unlimited interest in real property Life Estate An estate held by a person during his/her or someone else’s life

Life Estate Life tenant Pur autre vie: Measured by the life of another Future interest: What is reserved to the grantor Reversion: Returns to the grantor Remainder: Goes to another person

Spouse’s Right to Election Statutory right granted by law giving the surviving spouse the choice to take property according to the terms of the will OR to take property as provided by statute

Waste An act or omission that does permanent damage to real property or unreasonably changes its character or value Allows an owner to recover for such damage

Leasehold Estate Tenancy at will Tenancy at sufferance Tenancy for month/years Lasts for a fixed period Generally, these are tenancies operated under the terms of a lease