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| Property law |
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| Part of thecommon law series |
| Types |
| Acquisition |
| Estates in land |
| Conveyancing |
| Future use control |
| Nonpossessory interest |
| Related topics |
| Othercommon law areas |
Higher category:Law andCommon law |
Incommon law, anestate is a living or deceased person'snet worth. It is the sum of a person'sassets; their legal rights, interests, and entitlements toproperty of any kind, minus all of theirliabilities at a given time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question ofbankruptcy and death of the person. (Seeinheritance.)
Depending on the particular context, the term is also used in reference to anestate in land or of a particular kind of property (such asreal estate orpersonal estate). The term is also used to refer to the sum of a person's assets only.
The equivalent incivil law legal systems ispatrimony.
UnderUnited States bankruptcy law, a person's estate consists of all assets or property of any kind available for distribution to creditors.[1] However, some assets are recognized asexempt to allow a person significant resources to restart their financial life. In theUnited States, asset exemptions depend on various factors, including state and federal law.[2][3][4] The estate (or assets) of a bankrupt person is administered by atrustee in bankruptcy. The legal position in allcommon law countries is similar in this respect.
Inland law, the term "estate" is a remnant of the Englishfeudal system, which created a complex hierarchy of estates and interests in land. Theallodial orfee simple interest is the most complete ownership that one can have of property in the common law system. An estate can be an estate for years, an estate at will, alife estate (extinguishing at the death of the holder), an estatepur autre vie (a life interest for the life of another person) or afee tail estate (to the heirs of one's body) or some more limited kind of heir (e.g. to heirs male of one's body).
Fee simple estates may be eitherfee simple absolute ordefeasible (i.e. subject to future conditions) like fee simple determinable and fee simple subject to condition subsequent; this is the complex system offuture interests (q.v.) which allows concepts of trusts and estates to elide intoactuarial science through the use of life contingencies.
Estate in land can also be divided into estates ofinheritance and other estates that are not of inheritance. The fee simple estate and the fee tail estate are estates of inheritance; they pass to the owner's heirsby operation of law, either without restrictions (in the case of fee simple), or with restrictions (in the case of fee tail). The estate for years and the life estate are estates not of inheritance; the owner owns nothing after the term of years has passed, and cannot pass on anything to his or her heirs.
Legal estates and interests are called rights "in rem", and said to be "good against the world".
Superimposed on the legal estate and interests in land, English courts created "equitable interests" over the same legal interests. These obligations are calledtrusts which will be enforceable in acourt. Atrustee is the person who holds thelegal title to property, while thebeneficiary is said to have an equitable interest in the property.
