Real Property Ownership, Interests, and Land Use
Estates and Forms of Ownership
Every ownership question turns on two things: which bundle of rights the party holds and how long it lasts. Fee simple absolute is the largest estate; defeasible fees (determinable, condition subsequent, executory interest) terminate on an event. A life estate measured by the holder's life, or by another's (pur autre vie), leaves a remainder in someone else. Co-ownership forms: tenancy in common (unequal shares, no survivorship), joint tenancy (equal shares, four unities, survivorship), tenancy by the entirety (spouses), and community property, which Arkansas does not use. Condominium = fee in the unit plus a share of common elements; cooperative = corporate shares plus a proprietary lease; timeshare = an interval estate.
Encumbrances and Land Use
Easements appurtenant run with the land; easements in gross benefit a person. Know easements by necessity, implication, prescription, and dedication. A license is revocable; an easement is not. Private restrictions come from deeds (covenants, conditions, restrictions); public restrictions flow from the police power (zoning, codes). Keep the four government powers straight: police power, eminent domain, taxation, and escheat.
Traps and Rule of Thumb
Trap: assuming a deed to two buyers creates a joint tenancy - survivorship must be clearly stated or the default is tenancy in common. Trap: calling a trade fixture a fixture; a commercial tenant may remove it.
Fixture test - attachment, adaptation, intention. Intention of the annexor controls. A built-in dishwasher stays; a tenant's walk-in cooler goes.