Property Ownership
This topic covers the nature of real property, the rights that come with ownership, the estates (interests) a person can hold in land, and the ways two or more people can co-own property. These fundamentals are the same nationwide.
Real vs. Personal Property and the Bundle of Rights
Real property (realty) is land and everything permanently attached to it, together with the associated rights. Personal property (chattels) is movable and not permanently attached. An item can change character: a fixture is personal property that has been attached to real property so as to become part of it (tests include method of attachment, adaptation to the property, and the intent of the person who attached it). Ownership of real property is often described as a bundle of rights: the rights to possess, use, enjoy, exclude others, and dispose of (sell, lease, or will) the property.
Estates in Land
A freehold estate is ownership of indefinite duration. The fee simple absolute is the largest estate: unlimited duration, freely transferable, and inheritable. A defeasible fee is a fee that can be lost if a stated condition occurs. A life estate lasts only for the life of a named person and is not inheritable; when the measuring life ends, title passes to the remainderman or reverts to the grantor. Less-than-freehold (leasehold) estates, such as an estate for years or a periodic tenancy, give possession for a limited time without ownership.
Forms of Co-Ownership
Tenancy in common lets two or more owners hold undivided interests (which may be unequal); each share passes to the owner's heirs, with no survivorship. Joint tenancy features equal interests and the right of survivorship, so a deceased joint tenant's interest passes automatically to the survivors outside probate. Tenancy by the entirety is a form reserved for married couples in some states with survivorship. Community property, used in some states, treats most property acquired during marriage as owned equally by both spouses.