Name the three basic freehold estates in real property.

Name the three basic freehold estates in real property.

• A. Leasehold estate, life estate, and fee simple.
• B. Fee simple absolute, life estate, and defeasible fee.
• C. Fee simple determinable, life estate, and estate for years.
• D. Fee simple absolute, reversionary interest, and license.

Answer: (B)

Freehold estates are ownership interests in real property that can last for an indefinite period. The three basic forms are: fee simple absolute, which is complete ownership with no conditions or time limits; a life estate, which lasts only for the life of a named person and then ends; and a defeasible fee, a fee simple estate that can be terminated if a specified condition occurs or a certain event fails to occur. This is why the correct answer lists fee simple absolute, life estate, and defeasible fee—the three fundamental ways someone can own property outright, with the defeasible fee adding a potential end condition. Leasehold concepts like an estate for years are not freehold because they grant possession for a fixed term rather than ownership. A reversionary interest is a future interest held by someone else after a life estate or defeasible fee, not an ownership estate in possession. A license is merely permission to use property and does not confer an ownership stake.

Freehold estates are ownership interests in real property that can last for an indefinite period. The three basic forms are: fee simple absolute, which is complete ownership with no conditions or time limits; a life estate, which lasts only for the life of a named person and then ends; and a defeasible fee, a fee simple estate that can be terminated if a specified condition occurs or a certain event fails to occur. This is why the correct answer lists fee simple absolute, life estate, and defeasible fee—the three fundamental ways someone can own property outright, with the defeasible fee adding a potential end condition.

Leasehold concepts like an estate for years are not freehold because they grant possession for a fixed term rather than ownership. A reversionary interest is a future interest held by someone else after a life estate or defeasible fee, not an ownership estate in possession. A license is merely permission to use property and does not confer an ownership stake.