Ch 8: Concurrent Estates Flashcards
(27 cards)
Concurrent Estate
Ownership or possession of real property by 2 or more persons at the same time
Oliver conveys Blackacre “to Ana and Ben and their heirs.” Anna and Ben are ?
concurrent owners of Blackacre
What is the basic rule for concurrent estates
Concurrent owners each have right to use or possess the whole property (exception: they can contract out of this)
3 kinds of concurrent ownership/concurrent estates
- Tenancy in common
- Joint tenancy
- Tenancy by the entirety
What is the default concurrent interest?
Tenancy in common
Any conveyance to more than one person in presumed to be _______________
tenancy in common
Concurrent owners have _______ but _______ interests in the property
separate; undivided
Tenancy in common have no right of ?
survivorship (each co-tenant can transfer the property freely at death as well as during life)
Oliver conveys Blackacre “in equal shares to Anna, Ben, and Carmen.” Anna conveys her interest to Amy. Ben dies and his will gives his entire estate to his son Brad. Who owns black acre?
Amy has 1/3 interest; Brad has 1/3 interest; Carmen has 1/3 interest
Joint tenancy
the defining characteristic of joint tenancy is the right of survivorship– where the surviving joint tenant(s) automatically take the deceased tenants interest
Oliver conveys black acre “to Anna and ben as joint tenants with a right of survivorship.” Anna dies. Anna’s will leaves everything to her daughter. Who owns black acre?
Ben does, because he has the right of survivorship under joint tenancy
How do you create a joint tenancy?
- Grantor must make a clear expression of intent; AND
- must be survivorship language (ex. “as joint tenants with a right of survivorship)
To create a joint tenancy, you need 4 unities which are:
- Possession
- Interest
- Time
- Title
(PITT)
What is the possession element of joint tenancy
Every joint tenant has an equal right to possess the whole of the property
What is the interest element of joint tenancy
Joint tenants must have an equal share of the same type of interest
What is the time element of joint tenancy
Joint tenants must receive their interests at the same time
What is the title element of joint tenancy
Joint tenants must receive their interests in the same instrument of title
The four unities are needed to create a ________. If one unity is lost, then ?
needed to create a joint tenancy; if one unity is lost, the joint tenancy is severed ( then presumed to be a tenancy in common)
Inter vivos transfer
Transfer during life will destory/sever the right of survivorship and convert the estate into a tenancy in common
Any lien against a joint tenants interest ________ upon that tenants death, so the surviving tenants interests are not _______
terminates; encumbered/burdened
What is the majority approach for mortgages with joint tenancies?
Most jurisdictions follow a majority theory which is that the mortgage is treated as a lien and does not destroy the joint tenancy
What is the minority approach for mortgages with joint tenancies?
A minority of jurisdictions follow a title theory which is that the mortgage severs title and the tenancy between the joint tenants and the creditor is converted into a tenancy in common
Jurisdictions are split about what issue
whether a lease severs joint tenancy; some say that it does and some say a lease is just a temporary suspension of joint tenancy
Tenancy by the entirety
Joint tenancy between married people (marriage is the 5th unity)
