1. The Concept of Property Related to Wills, Trusts, and Estate Administration
Chapter 1

2. Property Real Property Personal Property
Immovable, fixed, or permanent
For example: buildings, land, trees
Personal Property
Movable
For example: cars, boats, furniture

3. Real Property Realty or Real Estate Fixture Immovable
Affixed to land or buildings
Growing on land
Fixture
Something so attached to land or a structure as to be deemed a part of it

4. Transfer
Deed
A written document signed by the grantor and conveying title to real property to the grantee
Grantor
A person who conveys property to another
Grantee
A person to whom real property is conveyed

5. Personal Property Chattel Movable Tangible Intangible
Property that has a physical existence and can be touched
For example: cars, boats, jewelry
Intangible
Property that has no physical existence
For example: cash, stocks and bonds, digital assets

6. Estate
All property owned by a person while alive or by decedent at the time of death
Probate Property
Property subject to estate administration
Nonprobate Property
Transferred without estate administration
Transferred by operation of law, e.g., life insurance benefits

7. Forms of Property Ownership
Tenants in Severalty
Concurrent Ownership
Joint tenancy
Tenants in common
Tenants in the entirety
Community property

8. Tenants in Severalty
Ownership by One Person
Probate Property

9. Joint Tenancy Ownership by Two or More Persons Right of Survivorship
Ownership passes by operation of law without probate
Unities of time, title, interest, and possession
Undivided ownership interest

10. Tenants in Common Unity of possession
Each owner controls his/her interest and establishes a right to take or control the whole property and share in its profits

11. Partition
A remedy for a division of real property held by joint tenants or tenants in common so that the individuals can hold title in severalty

12. Tenants by Entirety
A form of joint tenancy available only to a husband and wife
Right of survivorship
Added bonus: Creditors of an individual may not seize property of the tenancy because the entirety is considered to be one entity

13. Community Property
All property, other than property received by gift, will, or inheritance, acquired by either spouse during the marriage
Considered to be owned by both spouses equally
Adopted by nine states; optional in Alaska

14. Separate Property
Property owned by the husband or wife prior to their marriage OR
Property acquired during the marriage by gift, will, or inheritance

15. Estates in Real Property
Freehold
An estate in real property of uncertain duration, e.g., a life estate
Fee Simple
An absolute, unqualified, and unlimited interest in real property
Life Estate
An estate held by a person during his/her or someone else’s life

16. Life Estate Life tenant Pur autre vie: Measured by the life of another
Future interest: What is reserved to the grantor
Reversion: Returns to the grantor
Remainder: Goes to another person

17. Spouse’s Right to Election
Statutory right granted by law giving the surviving spouse the choice
to take property according to the terms of the will OR
to take property as provided by statute

18. Waste
An act or omission that does permanent damage to real property or unreasonably changes its character or value
Allows an owner to recover for such damage

19. Leasehold Estate Tenancy at will Tenancy at sufferance
Tenancy for month/years
Lasts for a fixed period
Generally, these are tenancies operated under the terms of a lease