First in time,
first in right
first in right
Describe the doctrine of Discovery.
Exclusive titles goes to the government, person, or subject who made the discovery against all others.
What is adverse possession?
An unconventional method of transferring interest in land WITHOUT consent of the prior owner and in dissent of such owner.
What is fee simple absolute? What is the language needed?
- highest, largest, and most complete form of ownership
- duration: infinite; transferability: alienable, descendible, devisable; future interest: none
Language:
- CL: "O to A and his heirs"
(at CL, it is assumed that the grantor is giving away a LE UNLESS it is stated otherwise by specific language)
- ML: "to A," "to A and his heirs," "to A forever and ever"
(at ML, it is assumed that the grantor is giving away their entire estate UNLESS stated otherwise)
True or False: All fee simple estates are defeasible.
TRUE
What are NC's SOL for Adverse Possession?
- individual with CoT = 7 years
- individual without CoT = 20 years
- government with CoT = 21 years
- government without CoT = 30 years
Describe the doctrine of Conquest.
The taking of possession of territory through force, followed by annexation of the defeated territory.
How do you create Adverse Possession?
A Nasty Hoe ON Every Corner
To claim adverse possession, an individual must take actual possession of a property that is uninterrupted, open and notorious, exclusive, and hostile for a set period of time.
What is fee tail? What is the language needed?
- an estate that descends to the grantee's direct lineal heirs; a possessory estate that keeps property within the family line
- duration: for the life of the first tenant - when the first tenant dies, to his/her lineal descendants until the line of descendants run out. - reversion only if the blood line ends (this can literally go on forever)
- alienability: inter vivos only - the transferee's intent terminates when the "tenant in tail" dies, in favor of tenant in tail's lineal descendants
- future interest: reversion (if in grantor), remainder (if in 3rd person)
Language: "to A and the heirs of his/her body" (required at CL ONLY)
- ML: fee tails have been turned into FSAs (in the 4 special jurisdictions, fee tails that exist can be disentailed by any inter vivos conveyance)What is fee simple determinable? What is the language needed?
- fee simple that AUTOMATICALLY ends when a certain even or condition occurs
- words of duration: "as long as," "while," "until," and "during"
Ex. O conveys "to B and his heirs so long as the land is used as a farm"
- present estate:
grantor: possibility of reverter
grantee: fee simple determinable
- future interest: executory interest or remainder
O "to A so long as property is used for residential purposes and if not, O has the right to reenter and reclaim the property"
- O = nothing
- A = FSA
Why is this CatDog?
- it is attempting to fuse 2 types of estates: "so long as" is durational language for FSD and right to reenter and reclaim" is the express reversion that should follow a FSSCS
- since you CANNOT create a new estate, everything after O to A is struck as mere surplusage and A gets an FSA
Describe the doctrine of Capture.
- Wild animals
- Rule of increase
- Constructive Possession of wild animals
- Wild animals: In order to obtain title to a wild animal, the claimant must have mortally wounded or otherwise deprived the animal of its liberty, before a property right is created.
- Rule of increase: if you own the mother, you own the offspring
- Constructive Poss. of wild animals: When wild animals are on your land, this gives you the first right of taking. Where a person's trade has been hurt by another taking animals, he can recover for the amount lost, but not the loss of the animals.
What is Color of Title?
What is life estate? What is the language needed?
- a possessory estate that terminates upon the death of a specific person
- duration: for the lifetime of the person(s) named as the measuring life
- alienability: cannot transfer this via will - can transfer by deed, but it ends when the measuring life ends
- future interest: reversion in grantor/transferor; remainder in 3rd party
Language:
- CL: "to A," "to A for life, then to B forever," "to A for life, then to B" (presumption in LE)
- ML: "to A for life" (presumption is FSA, so MUST SPECIFY for life)
What is fee simple subject to condition subsequent? What is the language needed?
- fee simple created in a transferee that may be terminated at the election of the transferor when a certain condition or event occurs
- words of duration: "on condition that," "but if," "provided that"
Ex. O conveys "to B and his heirs provided that the land is used as a farm"
- Present estate/future interest:
grantor: possibility of termination/right of entry
grantee: fee simple on condition subsequent
- duration: potentially infinite UNLESS the state event occurs AND transferor exercises power of termination/right of entry
Name the 3 types of Waste. What type of estate do they apply to? Give one example for each type. What is the Open Mines Exception?
1. Affirmative waste
i.e., tearing down building, cutting timber, strip mining
2. Permissive waste
i.e., failing to kick off APer, allowing a rook to leak, failing to pay taxes
3. Ameliorative waste
ex. converting farmland into a commercial parking lot
Waste is EXCLUSIVE to life estates.
Open Mines Exception: applies to Affirmative waste - if the property is already being used for certain depicting purposes, it is assumed that the grantor intended the life tenant to benefit from continuing in that use
Describe the doctrine of Capture.
- Locke's Labor Theory
- Abandoned Property
- Locke's Labor Theory: reward the possession rights to the laborer -- possession is equal to dominion and control -- first possessor has the right of property
- Abandoned Property: once a baseball is hit into the stands, the original owner (the team) has abandoned it, so whoever catches it first owns it.
What is constructive possession? How can you prove constructive possession?
CANSS
- Constructive possession is the legal principle that allows a person to obtain title to more than the land occupied.
- An individual can prove constructive possession if they have CANSS:
C: Color of title
A: Actual Possession
N: No Actual Possession of another
S: Single Parcel
S: Single True Owner
What is life estate pur autre vie? What is the language needed?
- grantor gives the estate to grantee for the life of another person
Language:
- O to A for the life of B
1. O conveys "to A for life"
- A = LE. - O = reversion in FSA
2. then A conveys "to B for life"
- A = reversion in LE. - B = LE & LEPAV.
- O = reversion in FSA
B has LE b/c that's what A gave him
B also has a LEPAV b/c his estate is measured by A's life - if A dies, B's LE ends b/c O did not convey anything to B. once A dies, O has a right to his property.
3. O conveys "to A for life" then A conveys "to B"
- A = nothing - B = LE & LEPAV (for the life of A)
- O = reversion in FSA
What is fee simple subject to executory limitation? What is the language needed?
- a defeasible fee simple estate created in transferee that is followed by a future interest in another transferee (future interest is held by a 3rd party), which ends automatically when a certain event or condition occurs
- duration potentially infinite UNLESS stated event or occurrence occurs
- words of condition are same as FSSCS ("provided that," "but if," "on condition that"
Ex. O conveys "to B and her heirs on the condition that it is used as a farm, if not, then to C"
- future interest: executory interest (EI)
Ex. C holds an executory interest that will become possessory if the property is no longer used as a farm
What is tacking? What is privity? When can you apply tacking?
- Tacking: An APer can tack on the time of possession of a prior APer to meet the statutory period requirement if the APers are in privity w/ one another
- Privity: the transfer of land was VOLUNTARILY agreed upon, usually by deed -- satisfied by the voluntary conveyance between the APers
- some jurisdictions may not allow tacking when the original possessor was a tenant
- you can ONLY tack periods of legally sufficient AP -- if APer 1's possession was defective (ex. failed open and notorious), that defective period cannot be "cured" by tacking it to APer 2's valid possession