Concurrent Estates

Question 1

What are the 4 unities?

Answer 1

Time, acquired at the same time

Title, created in the same document

Interest, same shares in the estate, equal in size and duration

Possession, must allow equal possession

Question 2

How would a joint tenant deliberately sever their tenancy in common?

Answer 2

By alienating some or all of their interest or by joint tenants agreeing to sever

Question 3

How would a joint tenant unintentionally sever their tenancy in common? (Traditional rule)

Answer 3

One of the tenants does something that destroys one of the four unities

Question 4

How would a joint tenant unintentionally sever their tenancy in common? (Modern rule)

Answer 4

No severance under modern trend when one of the 4 unitys is destroyed unless one or more of the joint tenants desire to terminate the joint tenancy

Question 5

Under the modern rule for concurrent estates, how do the courts handle ambiguous intent?

Answer 5

Considers the intent of the grantor based on the wording in the four corners of the document.