EP | Chapter 3

Question 1

Actual Contribution Rule

Answer 1

• the value of a decedent’s joint interest in property is based on the actual percentage of the original purchase price contributed by the decedent
  
  • ​NOT the decedent’s ownership percentage

Question 2

Ancillary Probate

Answer 2

• probate process conducted in a non-domiciliary state in which the decedent owns real property (real estate)
  
  • ​often, requires the services of an attorney from that state
  • usually, incurs additional court fees

Question 3

Community Property

Answer 3

• married individuals own an equal and undivided interest in al lof the property accumulated during the marriage
  
  • ​influenced by either spouses’s earnings

Question 4

Digital Assets

Answer 4

• an electronic record of which an individual has a right or interest
• may include information stored on a user’s computer and other digital devices, social media accounts, information uploaded to websites and catalogs of electronic communitcations

Question 5

Equitable Ownership

Answer 5

• the economic right to enjoy the benefits of a property
• a form of ownershi[ typically associated with use of the property
• includes:
  
  • the right to enjoy the property
  • the right to use the property
  • the right to receive income from the property

Question 6

Fee Simple Ownership

Answer 6

• the complete ownership of property by one individual
• the maximum rights that an owner can have on a property
• includes the right to: use, sell, gift, alienate, convey, bequeath
• key characteristic of fee simple ownership is that the owner has the unfettered right to transfer their ownership in the property during lifetime (by gift or sale) or upon death (by will).

Question 7

Intangible Personal Property

Answer 7

• includes stocks, bonds, patents, and copyrights​
• refers to non-physical property

Question 8

Joint Tenancy with Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS)

Answer 8

• interest in property held by two or more related or unrelated persons (called joint tenants)
• each person holds an equal and undivided interest in the whole property
• at the death of the first join tenant, the decedent’s interest transfers to the other joint tenants outside of the probate process
• a creditor of one co-owner may be able to seize the entire property to satisfy a debt of one particular owner

Question 9

Legal Ownership

Answer 9

• possession of legal title to the property

Question 10

Life Estate

Answer 10

• an interest in property that ceases upon the death of the owner of a life interest
• ex. when one person leaves another the use of their beach property for the life of that other person

If Joe bequeathed his vacation home to his mother for the rest of her life and then to his brother at his mother’s deaht, Joe’s mom would have a life estate in the vacation home and his brother would have a remainder interest in the property.

Question 11

Quasi-Community Property

Answer 11

• property that would be community property had the married couple been living in the community-property state at the time of acquisition
• applies to married couples who move from a common-law (separate property) state to a community-property state

Question 12

Real Property

Answer 12

• refers to land and anything permanently attached to the land
  
  • ​buildings, trees, and items permanently affixed to buildings (fixtures)

Question 13

Residence Domiciliary

Answer 13

• an individual’s legal state of residence

Question 14

Sole Ownership

Answer 14

• the complete ownership of property by one individual
• also known as Fee Simple Ownership
• includes the rights to use, sell, gift, alienate, convey or bequeath

Question 15

Tangible Personal Property

Answer 15

• consists of all property that is not realty (not affixed to the land)
• tangible property is generally moveable and has as a physical substance