TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.

1)

Personal property is all property that is not classified as real property.

1)

_______

2)

Personal property may be subclassified as either tangible personal property or intangible personal
property.

2)

_______

3)

Dishes and china, cars, computers, and royalties are all examples of tangible personal property.
3)

_______

4)

"Chose in action" is a legal term for an item of personal property that is intangible. It is a personal right
in which the owner does not possess the property but has a right to recover it in a lawsuit.

4)

_______

5)

Property that is owned severally is owned by several individuals.

5)

_______

6)
Joint tenancy presumes that each owner has an identical right to possess the property.

6)

_______

7)

The right of survivorship requires the joint tenant(s), upon the death of another joint tenant, to present
his or her claim to the decedent's ownership rights, in a court of law.

7)

_______

8)

Tenancy by the Entirety is a form of jointly owned property that only exists between husband and wife.

8)

_______
9)

A fee simple estate is the smallest estate a person can hold.

9)

_______

10)

Real property is any type of property that is immovable, fixed, or permanent.

10)

______

11)

An example of a fixture is a refrigerator.

11)

______
12)

When a joint tenancy is created, a tenancy in common is automatically created.

12)

______

13)

All states have tenancy by the entirety.

13)

______

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question.

14)

Real property includes all of the following except:

14)
______

A)

vacant land

B)

barns

C)

automobiles

D)

condominiums

15)

Example(s) of fixtures are:

15)

______
A)

trees and flowers

B)

sinks

C)

pictures

D)

A and B only

16)

A life estate is:

16)

______

A)

also known as "estate de la chaim" in some southern regions of the United States
B)

a legal term used to describe one's domicile at the time of death

C)

a home that is willed to a beneficiary for the remainder of his or her natural life

D)

the right of a person, called the life tenant, to live on the property until the death of the life in being

17)

Life estate pur autre vie refers to:

17)

______

A)

property held for the life of someone other than the tenant

B)
lack of legal standing in life estate disputes

C)

property held in perpetuum by the executor of a will

D)

property held for the life of the tenant

18)

A reversion, as it pertains to life estates, is also known as a:

18)

______

A)

suspension of the will

B)

revocation order

C)
reversionary interest

D)

reversal of the rights specific to the pur autre vie

19)

All of the following are true of probate assets except:

19)

______

A)

they do not require any court proceedings

B)

court orders are necessary to properly pass title in the probate assets from the decedent's estate to the
beneficiaries or heirs

C)

all forms of property in a descent's estate that require probate court proceedings
D)

property that is conveyed by will, or is being distributed by descent and distribution statutes

20)

The following are common to non-probate assets except:

20)

______

A)

they do not require any court proceedings to pass title from the descendant's estate to the beneficiaries
or heirs

B)

they are not distributed according to the decedent's will

C)

it is necessary to gain a court order to pass title for all non-probate assets

D)
both A and B

21)

Pay-on-death (POD) accounts are also known as:

21)

______

A)

Roth accounts

B)

Keough accounts

C)

living trusts

D)

Totten Trusts
22)

The following are characteristic(s) of living trusts, also known as inter vivos trusts:

22)

______

A)

Any assets that are mode part of the trust become non-probate assets.

B)

They become effective during the testator's lifetime.

C)

They are not part of a decedent's probate estate.

D)

all of the above

23)
The following is characteristic of a tenancy for years:

23)

______

A)

The time that the tenant will hold the property is specifically designated.

B)

The tenant always must take a long-term lease from the remainderman.

C)

The person has actual ownership of the property for the designated period of time.

D)

both A and C

24)

The following best exemplifies the characteristics of a joint tenancy:

24)

______

A)

title, possession and interest

B)

interest only

C)

time and title

D)

time, possession, interest and title

25)

Community property is permitted in all but which of the following?

25)

______
A)

California

B)

Texas

C)

Idaho

D)

Wyoming

ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.

26)

Discuss the concept of joint ownership and its subcategories: joint tenancy, tenancy in common, tenancy
by the entirety, and community property. How do they affect the distribution of the decedent's
property?
27)

The fee simple estate is not subject to restrictions, entitling the owner(s) to all the rights and privileges
associated with the property. Discuss all of the characteristics of a fee simple estate and their
significance.

28)

What percentage of people in the U.S. currently live in a community property state?

29)

In recent years, the goal of many people has been probate avoidance. What are some of the reasons for
that?

1)

TRUE

2)

TRUE
3)

FALSE

4)

TRUE

5)

FALSE

6)

TRUE

7)

FALSE

8)

TRUE

9)

FALSE

10)
TRUE

11)

FALSE

12)

FALSE

13)

FALSE

14)

15)

16)

17)
A

18)

19)

20)

21)

22)

23)

24)

D
25)

26)

Joint ownership refers to multiple parties owning an interest in one property whether of real property
or personal property. The interests may be equal or disparate depending upon the form of joint
ownership.

∙ Joint tenancy, if it is right of survivorship, is a non-probate asset so it is transferred as a matter

of law and is not subject to the probate of a decedent's estate. In some circumstances, property
therefore transfers to the other joint owner and the decedent's will beneficiaries or other heirs may not
be happy about the disposition (for example: when the parent owns a bank account with one child and
not the others). Nonetheless, they can do nothing about it unless they can prove some type of fraud in
the form of transfer while the decedent was incapable etc or that the joint ownership was merely for
the convenience of one of the parties. Joint tenants own the same interest in property.

∙ Tenancy in common means that all the title holders own their share jointly but not with
survivorship rights and the decedent's portion transfers either by intestacy to heirs or by will to
beneficiaries. Tenants in common may not own the same interest and may acquire their interests at
different times.

∙ In a tenancy by the entirety, the property passes automatically to the decedent's spouse as this
is form of title is specific to husbands and wives. In most instances, this is the desirable outcome but in
second families, and especially when the home is the only or largest asset, children from prior
marriages/relationships may be upset. There is no recourse however. This form of property ownership is
not subject to the claims of creditors.

Community property laws vary from state to state (in those that have community property), however,
the one thing to remember is that a community asset is owned ½ by the husband and ½ by the wife.
Therefore the decedent's spouse does not automatically own the decedent's portion of the property
upon the decedent's death, as with tenancy by the entirety. With marriages in which all the children are
from that marriage this is often not an issue. However with second or third marriages, it is vitally
important in community property states to insure that each spouse make provision for the other spouse
so that a surviving spouse does not find him or herself owing half of his/her house with the decedent's
children from prior marriages/relationships.

27)
∙ Fee simple = largest estate that can be held by a property owner.

∙ Subject to the government's right of eminent domain, the estate may not be taken away from
the owner or his or her heirs or assigns without consent. While this is total ownership, more than one
person may hold a fee interest in the property. In cases such as this, the joint owners are tenants in
common. Unless otherwise stated, all conveyances are presumed to create a fee simple estate.

∙ A fee simple estate is fully transferrable during the life of the owner.

∙ A fee simple estate may be transferred by will.

∙ A fee simple is subject to the claims of creditors. This rule applies both before and after the
death of the fee simple owner.

If the fee simple is not transferred by will, the fee simple will pass through intestacy to the owner's heirs
and is subject to the rights of a surviving spouse.

28)

20%

29)

Various methodologies may be used to avoid probate. There are two main benefits of this:

1. The property passes to beneficiaries much more quickly; and

2. The cost of probate, which can be quite high, is greatly reduced.

Clients must be counseled, however, that it is not always possible to avoid probate totally.