Property Ownership
This national topic covers the estates in land, including life estates and remainders, and the ways title can be held by more than one owner.
Estates in Land
Real property is land, its permanent improvements, and the bundle of rights to possess, use, exclude, enjoy, and dispose. Fee simple absolute is the greatest estate, of indefinite duration. A life estate lasts only for a named person's life; when it ends, title passes to a remainderman (if named) or reverts to the grantor (a reversion). A life tenant may use the property but cannot devise it by will.
Forms of Co-Ownership
Tenancy in common gives each owner a separate, inheritable share. Joint tenancy carries the right of survivorship, passing a deceased owner's share to the survivors. Many states, including Massachusetts, recognize tenancy by the entirety for married couples, which adds survivorship and certain creditor protections. The form of co-ownership determines what happens to an interest at death.