Lesson 2: Basic Future Interests: The Defeasible Estates and Their Future Interests

This lesson is part of a series of exercises covering Basic Future Interests. While the 10 lessons comprising this series can be worked in any sequence, the lessons do to some degree build on each other. Thus, it is suggested that students work them in order.

Students should complete the Basic Estate System lesson prior to working through this lesson and series.

The 10 lessons are:

• Lesson 1: The Concept of "Future Interest"
• Lesson 2: The Defeasible Estates and Their Future Interests
• Lesson 3: Fee Simple Determinable (and Possibilities of Reverter)
• Lesson 4: Fee Simple on Condition Subsequent (and Rights of Re-entry)
• Lesson 5: Fee Simple On Executory Limitation (and Executory Interests)
• Lesson 6: Reversions
• Lesson 7: Remainders
• Lesson 8: Kinds of Vested and Contingent Remainders
• Lesson 9: Executory Interests
• Lesson 10: Identifying Remainders and Executory Interests

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the lesson, the student will be able to:

1. Explain the basic concept of future interests under American common law.
2. List the key characteristics of modern future interests.
3. Recognize the defeasible fee simple future estates based on the words that create them.
4. Identify the differences in how early termination occurs for each defeasible fee simple estate.
5. Identify to whom possession transfers upon the termination of each defeasible fee simple estate.
6. Identify which future interest follows each defeasible fee simple estate.
7. Classify future interests in the grantor (reversion, possibility of reverter, and right of re-entry) and in someone other than the grantor (remainder and executory interest).