Texas Bar Exam Essays -- Real Property

What are the rights & duties of a life tenant - Answer- Tenant is to maintain the estate, if they do more, they have committed waste. +Voluntary Waste - affirmative action beyond right of maintenance that harms premise +Permissive Waste - results from failure to repair, pay taxes, and interest on mortgage +Ameliorative Waste - alters property, enhances value When can the life tenant commit waste - Answer- If changed conditions have made the property relatively worthless in its present condition, THEN LE can tear down without liability to future interests Rule of Convenience - Answer- A class closes when any member of the class is entitled to distribution What is the effect of the Cy Pres doctrine in TX - Answer- A court can shorten the time when vesting could occur to keep the gift over from vesting outside the time period allowed by RAP. Can only do so to further the wishes of the grantor What is a Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship - Answer- *Common law JT DOES NOT EXIST in TX but rt of survivorship can be contracted btwn parties Definition: each tenant has an undivided interest in teh whole estate & the surviving co-tenant has a rt to the whole estate Creation: requires exact JT w/ rt of survivorship language + 4 Unities (PITT - Possession, Interest, Time, Title) Termination: Any JT can, w/o permission (1) partition (vol/unvol) or (2) Sever, creating a TiC *NB: TX = Lien theory; Mortgage DOES NOT sever JT What are the rights of tenants in common - Answer- +TiX is the DEFAULT concurrect estate in TX & is characterized by Rt to Partition & NO Rt of Survivorship. +Each tenant is entitled to Possession of Whole Rights Duties btwn Co Tenants (a) Accounting (Profits/Rent) (b) Contributions (Repairs/taxes/mortgage but NEVER improvements What types of Tenancies exist? - Answer- (1) Tenancy for Years - Fixed period of time no matter how short (2) Periodic