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Estate in land: Difference between revisions

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Theory from legal tradition.
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An '''estate in land''' is an interest in [[real property]] that is or may become [[possessory]]{{disambiguation needed|date=July 2012}}.
An '''estate in land''' is an interest in [[real property]] that is or may become [[possessory]]{{disambiguation needed|date=July 2012}}.


In the legal systems of almost every country, the ultimate true "owner" of all land is the [[sovereign]], which for a republic is the whole people of a [[society]] with [[Domain Name System|domain]] over land, which may be called a "[[state]]". Private parties own not the underlying land, but claims on parcels of land, which taken together comprise the estate for that parcel. This superior ownership is the basis for taking the land through [[eminent domain]].
In the legal systems of almost every country, the ultimate true "owner" of all land is the [[sovereign]], which for a republic is the whole people of a [[society]] with [[Domain Name System|domain]] over land, which may be called a "[[Sovereign state|state]]". Private parties own not the underlying land, but claims on parcels of land, which taken together comprise the estate for that parcel. This superior ownership is the basis for taking the land through [[eminent domain]].


This should be distinguished from an "[[Estate (land)|estate]]" as used in reference to an area of land, and "[[Immovable Property|estate]]" as used to refer to property in general.
This should be distinguished from an "[[Estate (land)|estate]]" as used in reference to an area of land, and "[[Immovable Property|estate]]" as used to refer to property in general.

Revision as of 22:16, 17 August 2013

An estate in land is an interest in real property that is or may become possessory[disambiguation needed].

In the legal systems of almost every country, the ultimate true "owner" of all land is the sovereign, which for a republic is the whole people of a society with domain over land, which may be called a "state". Private parties own not the underlying land, but claims on parcels of land, which taken together comprise the estate for that parcel. This superior ownership is the basis for taking the land through eminent domain.

This should be distinguished from an "estate" as used in reference to an area of land, and "estate" as used to refer to property in general.

In property law, the rights and interests associated with an estate in land may be conceptually understood as a "bundle of rights" because of the potential for different parties having different interests in the same real property.

Categories of estates

Estates in land can be divided into four basic categories:

  1. Freehold estates: rights of conveyable exclusive possession and use
    • fee simple (fee simple absolute)—most rights, least limitations, indefeasible
    • defeasible estate—voidable possession and use
    • finite estate—limited to lifetimes
      • life estate—fragmented possession and use for duration of someone's life
      • fee tail—inalienable rights of inheritance for duration of family line
  2. Leasehold estates: rights of possession and use but not ownership. The lessor (owner/landlord) gives this right to the lessee (tenant). There are four categories of leasehold estates:
    1. estate for years (tenancy for years)—lease of any length with specific begin and end date
    2. periodic estate (periodic tenancy)—automatically renewing lease (month to month, week to week)
    3. estate at will (tenancy at will)—leasehold for no fixed time or period. It lasts as long as both parties desire. Termination is bilateral (either party may terminate at any time) or by operation of law.
    4. tenancy at sufferance—created when tenant remains after lease expires and becomes a holdover tenant, converts to holdover tenancy upon landlord acceptance.
  3. Statutory estates: created by law
  4. Equitable estates: neither ownership nor possession
    • lien
      • general
      • specific
    • easement
      • easement in gross
      • easement appurtenant
        • ingress
        • egress