Freehold Estates

Question 1

How does ownership of freehold estate in land operate

Answer 1

The Crown holds ownership of all land in England and Wales
Separate plots of land are granted to individuals in estates
LPA 1925 condensed estates to freehold and leasehold
Freehold - the legal owner of the estate can let and receive income, sell, transfer, grant or reserve rights, grant equitable estates and leave the estate in their will
Upon death if there is no will and the owner dies intestate, the estate will transfer back to the Crown

Question 2

Life estate

Answer 2

Right to use or occupy a property during somebody’s lifetime.

Can be separated into:
- Fee simple absolute in remainder (future interest in the land)
- Fee simple absolute in reversion (right of the original estate owner to own or possess the land once again once the fixed term interest they have granted to a third party has expired

Equitable interests behind a trust
Life tenant has the benefit of the life interest and can occupy the land, generate income from it, sell or transfer the land (with permission) but terms of the life estate would still apply. Life tenant cannot leave the property in their will as ownership will come to an end on their death.

Question 3

Determinable fee simple

Answer 3

Take effect on a specific but unpredictable event happening - I.e winning the lottery. If the determinable event happens then the estate will come to an end automatically.

Question 4

Conditional fee simple

Answer 4

Requires a condition to be complied with throughout ownership and if condition breached it will be up to the original estate owner wishes to bring the estate to an end.

Question 5

How to transfer a freehold estate in land

Answer 5

Must be done by way of deed. It must:
- be clear on the face of it that it is intended to be a deed;
- validly executed as a deed by the parties that are subject to it
It also must be registered for the legal estate to be transferred from a seller to a purchaser