Chapter 8 Section 2

Question 1

estate

Answer 1

-an estate is the degree, quantity, nature, and extent of interest or ownership rights a person can have in real property

Question 2

tenant

Answer 2

-a party entitled to rights in property is a tenant
-refers to anyone who has rights in a property

Question 3

freehold estate

Answer 3

-estate involving ownership
-no specified time for rights to expire
-fee simple estate and life estate

Question 4

fee simple estate

Answer 4

-owner has a complete bundle of rights
-four ways the fee simple estate can be held: estate in severalty, estate in common, joint tenancy, or tenancy by the entireties

Question 5

estate in severalty

Answer 5

-sole ownership of the entire bundle of rights
-owner may leave their interest in a will
-if owner dies with no will, interest will descend to owner’s heirs

Question 6

tenancy in common

Answer 6

-fee estate held by two or more persons
-each person has undivided interest
-can be created by: the same or different deeds, at the same or different times, with equal or unequal shares of ownership
-all owners have equal rights of use and possession
-owner of a tenancy in common may sell their interest during their lifetime without the consent of the other owners and without affecting any other owner’s rights

Question 7

joint tenancy

Answer 7

-fee estate shared by two or more persons who must have equal and undivided interests
-all tenants must have equal rights of use and possession, equal and undivided interests, and have acquired their ownership at the same time by the same deed or conveyance
-joint tenant can sell interest; however the purchaser will be a tenant in common since the four unities are not present
-in Florida, a joint tenancy can only be created when right of survivorship is clearly expressed in the deed or conveyance

Question 8

right of survivorship (for joint tenancy)

Answer 8

-upon death of a joint tenant, interest does not pass to will or descendant; it passes to surviving tenants

Question 9

tenancy by entireties

Answer 9

-estate for spouses only, the marriage is considered the owner of the property in which each spouse has a right of survivorship
-upon the death of one spouse, the surviving spouse will own the property in fee simple as an estate in severalty
-one spouse alone cannot do anything that affects the ownership without the other spouse’s consent
-debts incurred by only one spouse cannot be enforced against the property
-a spouse may NOT: place mortgage against the property, sell their interest outside of the marriage, or leave interest in a will
-in Florida, spouses are permitted to own property separately from the marriage
-property owned before marriage or inherited during is separate

Question 10

life estate

Answer 10

-freehold estate created when an owner of a fee simple estate conveys ownership to another , but only for the balance of the lifetime of the party to whom the property is conveyed

Question 11

reversion estate

Answer 11

-provision must be made in the deed that creates a life estate for the succession of ownership upon the death of the life tenant
-the party who created the life estate, called the grantor, may wish to have the property ownership returned to them or their heirs
-the right to regain the ownership is called a reversion estate

Question 12

life tenant

Answer 12

-the party who receives the ownership of a life estate is called a life tenant
-during the life of the life tenant, they may lease it, mortgage it, or even sell it
-if the property is leased, mortgaged, or sold, those rights terminate upon the death of the life tenant

Question 13

remainder estate

Answer 13

-the grantor may instead wish to have the property pass to another person or entity named in the original deed
-if someone other than the original owner is to receive the ownership, it is called a remainder estate

Question 14

vested remainderman

Answer 14

-if the remainderman is certain to receive the rights, they are a vested remainderman

Question 15

contingent remainderman

Answer 15

-if there is uncertainty as to whether or not the rights will pass to the remainderman, they are a contingent remainderman

Question 16

estate in posession

Answer 16

-one who has possession or control of property has an estate in possession
-an owner in fee simple or a life tenant has an estate in possession

Question 17

estate in expectancy

Answer 17

-when a party is to receive rights in the future, they have an estate in expectancy
-a remainderman would have an estate in expectancy

Question 18

non-freehold/leasehold estate

Answer 18

-estate in which the tenant does not have an ownership in the property

Question 19

tenancy at will

Answer 19

-tenant in lawful possession of the property under an agreement with the landlord, but with no definite time limit for the rights to terminate
-oral or written
-can be terminated at will via proper legal notice to tenant
-length of tenancy determines the notice period required to terminate a tenancy at will
-

Question 20

tenancy at will notice periods

Answer 20

-week to week: residential = nonresidential = 7 days
-month to month: residential = nonresidential = 15 days
-quarterly: residential = 30 days nonresidential = 45 days
-annual: residential = 60 days nonresidential = 90 days

Question 21

tenancy for years

Answer 21

-tenant in lawful possession of the property under an agreement with the landlord for a specified period of time
-must have definite beginning and definite ending
-must be in writing, signed by landlord and witnesses by two persons
-termination may occur by mutual agreement, expiration of lease period, or breach of contract

Question 22

tenancy at sufferance

Answer 22

-when a tenant occupies a landlord’s real estate in the absence of any agreement
-may be terminated by either landlord or tenant without notice
-tenant owes the landlord fair market rent for the period of occupancy