Real Property
Real Property covers ownership interests in land, transfers, and related rights. This chapter reviews general common-law principles tested on the MBE. Many rules have been modified by statute and vary substantially by jurisdiction.
Estates in Land
The fee simple absolute is the greatest ownership interest, of potentially infinite duration and freely transferable. Lesser interests include life estates, which last for a measuring life, and various defeasible estates that may end on the occurrence of a condition.
Concurrent Ownership
Property may be owned by more than one person. A joint tenancy generally carries a right of survivorship, so a deceased joint tenant's interest passes to the survivors rather than by will. A tenancy in common has no survivorship right, and the creation and severance rules vary by jurisdiction.
Adverse Possession and Transfers
Adverse possession generally requires possession that is open and notorious, continuous, exclusive, and hostile for a statutory period that varies by state. Voluntary transfers typically occur by deed, and recording statutes affect priority among competing claims.