Mine
What is property?
Rights in relation to a thing
What is adverse possession? Provide a definition + list the elements.
Adverse possession is the open possession of another person’s property in a way that is hostile to that person’s ownership. Adverse possession is also the name of the legal doctrine that allows a person to acquire title to real property without the owner’s consent by using or occupying the property for a sufficient time and in a sufficient manner.
To trigger adverse possession (i.e., to acquire title to property owned by someone else without the owner’s consent), the person claiming title must actually enter and possess property owned by another, and the time and manner of possession must be: (1) continuous, (2) hostile to the interests of the true owner, (3) open and notorious, (4) for the statutory period of possession, and (5) exclusive to the person claiming title through adverse possession. These elements can be summarized by the acronym CHOSE (continuous, hostile, open and notorious, statutory period, exclusive).
Someone who dies without having executed a will is said to have died ________.
What language in an instrument of conveyance is necessary to convey a fee simple absolute?
"To A"
What are the two types of future interests that correspond with a life estate?
The two types of future interests that correspond to a life estate are (1) reversions and (2) remainders. Once the life estate ends upon the death of the holder or another specified person, possession of the property will automatically and instantly pass to someone else. The person slated to receive possession when the life estate ends holds a future interest—either a reversion or a remainder. If the future interest is held by the grantor (the person who granted the life estate), the future interest is called a reversion. If the future interest is held by a grantee (someone other than the grantor), the future interest is called a remainder. At the termination of the life estate, the future interest becomes a possessory estate (usually a fee simple estate, but sometimes another life estate or an estate for years).
What is a possibility of reverter?
A possibility of reverter is a future interest that follows a fee simple determinable and vests in the grantor. Upon the occurrence of a specific event, the possibility of reverter will automatically become possessory and divest the fee simple determinable in favor of the grantor. At that point, the grantor will typically hold a fee simple absolute in the property.
What is the Rule Against Perpetuities?
No interest in land is good unless it must vest, if at all, within 21 years of a life in being.
The most common and default form of co-ownership in real property is ___________.
What is tenancy in common?
What is the distinction between property that is lost, mislaid, and/or abandoned? Who has rights in each?
•The owner of a lost item does not lose ownership rights. Ownership is lost only when there is an intent to abandon the item. However, the finder of a lost item may acquire ownership based on possession against all but the true owner.
•Mislaid items are left behind intentionally by an individual—then forgotten. Finder acquires no rights. Property belongs to owner of premises who has rights against all persons except true owner.
- Abandoned items are deemed relinquished.
If an adverse possessor satisfies all elements of adverse possession for the statutory period, does the adverse possessor automatically obtain title to the property?
Yes. If an adverse possessor satisfies all elements of adverse possession for the statutory period, then title will automatically pass to the adverse possessor upon the expiration of the period. Technically, no judicial involvement or formal documentation is required to transfer title.
What are the will formalities required in Wyoming?
What are the defeasible present estates?
FSD, FSSCS, FSSEI/EL
What language is used to create a life estate?
In general, a life estate is created and conveyed by language indicating that the grantor conveys the property to the life tenant “for life,” if the estate is for the duration of the life tenant’s life, or “for the life of” some other person. Additional language will typically convey a remainder to another grantee (e.g., “to A for life, remainder to B”). If not, the courts will presume that the grantor has retained a reversion.
What is a power of termination?
A power of termination, also known as a right of entry, is the future interest that follows a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent and vests in the grantor. Upon the occurrence of a specific event, the grantor will have the right to reenter and retake the property. Once the grantor does so (e.g., by commencing eviction proceedings), the fee simple subject to a condition subsequent will divest in favor of the grantor. At that point, the grantor will virtually always hold a fee simple absolute in the property.
Until the grantor affirmatively exercises the right of entry, however, the fee simple subject to a condition subsequent will remain vested in the grantee. Many jurisdictions require the grantor to exercise the right within a reasonable time; some others impose a specific time limit by statute.
Are future interests in the grantor subject to the RAP?
No. All future interests arising in favor of the grantor are immune from the rule against perpetuities. These future interests include: (1) the possibility of reverter, (2) the reversion, and (3) the right of entry/power of termination.
Time, Title, Interest, and Possession
What are the four unities required for the formation of a joint tenancy?
Explain the holding in Ganter v. Kapiloff.
Finders of lost property have a superior right to ownership against all but the true owner.
What is adverse possession under color of title?
Adverse possession occurs under color of title if the adverse possessor has a written document, such as a deed, that purports to give the possessor title to the property but for some reason is legally ineffective to do so.
What are some ways to avoid probate? (List three)
Transfer property to a trust; POD designations; transfer on death deed
What is a fee simple subject to executory interest?
A fee simple subject to an executory limitation is a fee simple estate followed by a future interest known as an executory interest. Put more simply, a fee simple subject to an executory limitation is a fee simple estate that, upon the occurrence of a specified event, will divest in favor of someone other than a grantor.
What is the open mines doctrine?
The open-mines doctrine is the rule that the life tenant may continue any mining operations that existed on the property when the life tenant took possession. This doctrine does not permit the life tenant to expand the scope of mining operations, but merely to continue existing mining operations. The doctrine is an exception to the general rule that the life tenant may not harvest natural resources on the land without the consent of the future-interest holder or express permission in the instrument creating the life estate.
Most courts apply the principles of the open-mines doctrine not only to minerals, but also to any other natural resources on the property, such as timber. Thus, the life tenant may continue any timbering or similar operation that existed when the life estate was created. (Doctrine of estovers)
What is a contingent remainder?
A contingent remainder is a remainder that:
A contingent remainder will vest, then, if the holder is born and identified, and the condition precedent is satisfied. Conversely, if these things do not occur, the contingent remainder will never vest or become possessory.
“To A, but if the property is ever used for any commercial purpose, to B.”
Executory interest- RAP applies; violation exists
What are some methods for severing a joint tenancy? Provide at least three examples.
Express Agreement, Gifting, Death, Judicial Partition, Unilateral Conveyance
Explain the holding in Moore v. Board of Regents
The court was not willing to apply the common law doctrine of conversion to Moore's excised cells.
What is tacking in adverse possession? Provide an example to demonstrate how it works.
The principle of tacking is a special instance of continuous possession. Tacking allows an adverse possessor to count someone else’s previous adverse possession toward the statutory period. The current adverse possessor thus tacks on the time of the prior possession. Tacking occurs only if the successive adverse possessors are in privity with one another, i.e., if they succeed one another by conveyance, devise, descent, or some other process showing a deliberate transfer of property rights from one adverse possessor to the other.
What is the slayer rule?
The slayer rule is the principle that if a beneficiary under a will feloniously and intentionally kills the testator (or another whose death was a condition for the killer to take), any gift, power of appointment, or fiduciary appointment to the slayer under the will is revoked by operation of law. Similarly, the killer may not inherit from the decedent by intestacy nor benefit from any nonprobate transfers by the decedent. If the slayer rule applies to a will, the entire will is interpreted as though the slayer predeceased the testator, causing lapse.
A sister wanted to convey her land to her brother in fee simple, with ownership of the land to automatically revert to her if the brother was ever arrested for any crime. How would you draft this conveyance?
“To [the brother] in fee simple, so long as he is not arrested for any crime.”
What is the life tenant’s duty to avoid permissive waste?
The life tenant’s duty to avoid permissive waste is the duty to take all reasonable steps to maintain the property, so that it does not fall into disrepair. This duty does not entail an obligation to make extraordinary repairs (e.g., replacing whole structures) or to make improvements.
In some jurisdictions, this duty is limited to the rent, profits, and income the property generates. In other words, the life tenant need spend no more money on repairs than the property actually produces in rent, profits, and income—even if the reasonable repair costs exceed that amount.
O owned Blackacre in fee simple absolute. O conveyed Blackacre “to A for so long as he never steps foot in the country of France.”
What interests do A and O hold in Blackacre?
A holds a fee simple determinable, and O holds a possibility of reverter. A fee simple determinable is typically created with language of time or duration. Examples include “until,” “while,” “so long as,” or “during.” When a grantor conveys a fee simple determinable to a grantee, the grantor retains a possibility of reverter, because the property will revert back to the grantor automatically upon the happening of the stated occurrence. Here, O conveyed Blackacre “to A for so long as” he never steps foot in France, which created a fee simple determinable due to the temporal limitation. O retains a possibility of reverter, because possession of Blackacre will revert automatically to O if A steps foot in France. Accordingly, A owns Blackacre in a fee simple determinable, and O holds a possibility of reverter.
“To A for life, then to B if B graduates from the University of Wyoming”
Does the RAP apply? If so, is it violated?
Applies to contingent remainder; no violation
Type of co-tenancy severed automatically by divorce?
What is tenancy by the entirety AND as of 2024, joint tenancy in Wyoming
While cleaning out a recently deceased aunt’s old desk, Carla discovers an envelope labeled “To review later,” containing several rare coins. She takes the coins home, believing they were abandoned. The aunt’s estate executor later claims the coins should pass to the estate.
Who has the best claim to the coins? Are they best described as lost, mislaid, or abandoned?
Possibly mislaid, but the estate has the best claim.
In the law of adverse possession, what is the objective test for determining whether possession is hostile? How does this compare to the subjective test? And which one is the majority rule?
Under the objective test, possession is hostile if the adverse possessor uses the property (1) as a reasonable owner would and (2) does so without permission from the true owner. Thus, this test focuses on the adverse possessor’s actions. The adverse possessor’s subjective mental state is irrelevant. The objective test is the majority rule in American law.
A testator bought a fill-in-the-blank will at an office-supply store. The testator filled in by hand the date, the names of the devisees, various specific gifts to named individuals, and a residuary devise. The testator then signed the document.
Is the will valid?
Under Wyoming law, no
A grantor owned land in fee simple absolute. The grantor conveyed the land "to my son and his heirs” in a deed that stated, in pertinent part, “To [the son], but if [the son] ever again smokes cigarettes, then to” the grantor’s neighbor. The son, who is currently living, has not smoked cigarettes since the date that the deed became operational.
What type of interest does the son have?
A fee simple subject to an executory limitation.
What is a life tenant's obligation to avoid ameliorative waste?
The life tenant’s obligation to avoid ameliorative waste is the duty to refrain from altering the character of the property without the future-interest holder’s consent or permission in the instrument creating the life estate, even if the change increases the property’s value.
Ameliorative waste is permitted, however, if the alterations increase the property’s value, and either:
A farmer owned her land in fee simple absolute. The farmer conveyed the land in a deed that stated that she was conveying the land to her sister “in fee simple, but if she ever runs for a political office, then to [the farmer’s brother].”
Immediately following this conveyance, what interests do the farmer’s sister and brother have in the land?
The sister has a conditional fee simple subject to an executory limitation; the brother has an executory interest.
A grantor who owned two pieces of farm property in fee simple absolute conveyed his property by deed on the following terms: parcel 1 to his brother for life, and then to his sister, so long as the property continued to be used as a farm; parcel 2 to his son in fee simple, so long as the son continued to use the property as a farm, and if not, then to his daughter.
Do any of these conveyances violate the RAP?
Nope!
When a tenant in common does not devise her interest to someone by will or transfer it during her lifetime, her interest _____________.
Passes to her heirs by intestacy.