Also known as: estate in land · estates in lands
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Possessory interests in land that confer the right to possess either immediately or at a future time. These interests include present estates such as fee simple and life estates as well as future interests that become possessory upon the termination of a prior estate.
Esther Eisenberg conveyed each lot in her new subdivision by deed that included a covenant restricting structures to single-family homes. She executed and recorded the deeds with the same formalities required for a fee simple conveyance of like duration. The buyers later sought to enforce the covenant against a subsequent purchaser who claimed the restriction lacked proper creation.
Eugene Ellsworth granted a life estate in his farm to his sister while reserving an easement across the land for access to an adjoining parcel he retained in fee simple. The easement burdened the life estate and benefited the retained fee. When the sister attempted to block the access, the court recognized the servitude as validly created on the life estate.
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Edgar Evers owned the surface of his land while Empire Logistics held the severed mineral estate beneath it and Edgewater Capital owned the support estate. When subsidence from mining threatened the surface, the three estates were treated as distinct possessory interests subject to separate regulation.
Esme Ellington owned oceanfront property whose boundary was subject to natural accretion and erosion. After the state restored the beach, Ellington claimed the restored strip as part of her estate while the state asserted title under the doctrine of avulsion. The court analyzed whether the littoral right constituted a vested estate or a contingent future interest.
Edward Everett orally promised to convey his farm to Emanuel Escobar in exchange for lifetime care. Escobar provided the care for years but Everett refused to execute a deed. Escobar sued for specific performance, arguing part performance removed the transaction from the statute of frauds that governs estates in land.
Everlasting Insurance acquired severed mineral rights decades earlier but failed to record any use or claim. Under state law the interests lapsed after twenty years of dormancy. The surface owner sought a declaration that the lapsed mineral estate had reverted and merged back into the surface estate.
A present estate confers the immediate right to possess the land. A future interest confers a right to possession only upon the termination of a prior estate or the occurrence of a specified event.
Both servitudes and estates are interests of potentially long duration that affect successive owners. Modern law therefore applies identical formalities to ensure proper recording and notice.
Yes. A servitude may be created to burden or benefit any estate in land, including life estates and defeasible fees, without regard to the estate's duration.
…the house. On the other hand the extent of the taking is great. It purports to abolish what is recognized in Pennsylvania as an estate in land — a very valuable estate — and what is declared by the Court below to be a contract hitherto binding the plaintiffs. If we were called upon to deal with the plaintiffs' position alone, we…