When analyzing different forms of
real property ownership, it is essential that one understands the concept of an
estate. Defined as a property of land that is usually of substantial size, as
well as everything owned by an individual at the time of death to be
distributed based on the will, there are numerous ways a court could rule in
regard to an estate. It is important to note that assets that are given to
someone else by putting a law into effect, such as joint tenancy, do not belong
to the estate in question, even if the person maintained rights to that
property throughout his or her life. Also, if the deceased had life insurance
and suggested a beneficiary, the proceeds of the corresponding policy would not
go directly to the estate of the deceased, but instead, to the nominated
beneficiary. If a will is constructed before one dies, the estate of the
departed is monitored by an executor. In the case of intestacy, however, the
estate is presided over by an administrator. Both executors and administrators
bear the responsibilities of safeguarding the estates’ assets, paying the debts
of the departed as well as dealing with liabilities, and, lastly, allotting the
balance in respect to the will, or as stipulated by law.
The most prevalent estate known by
law is the fee simple estate, which indicates the highest legal ownership as
well as the largest potential aggregate of rights and abilities one may possess
in land. Unless the will mentions the departed’s intention of a smaller estate,
it is assumed that whoever wrote the will was in favor of conveying an estate
in fee simple. There are different types fee simple estates to be taken into
consideration. If prior grantors of fee simple estates have not made any
conditions for future grantees to own the property passed on, the title is
known as fee simple absolute. Further fee simple estates, such as fee simple
defeasible estates, are also in existence. When a grantor creates a condition
for one of the fee simple estates, the defeasible estate is put into effect.
Following an aforementioned event, the estate could possibly become open to
annulment or void altogether. There are different types of defensible estates:
the fee simple subject to a condition subsequent the fee simple determinable.
If the grantor uses language in regard to time, such as “to John Doe as long as
the land is utilized for farming,” then when the aforementioned event takes
place, the estate will instantly terminate and return to the grantor or the
grantor’s estate, a prime example of fee simple determinable. Some states
across the country have altered an array of these statutes. During Common Law
in the early United States, determinable fee simple estates were preferred by
the courts. These days, however, the opposite is prevalent, as the majority of
the country’s courts often find fee simple estates liable to condition
subsequent in scenarios in which the original document’s language is ambiguous.
