estate on limitation – (18c) An estate that automatically reverts back to the grantor according to a provision, usually regarding the passage of a determined time period, designated by words such as “during,” “while,” and “as long as.” See fee simple determinable under FEE SIMPLE.  Cf. estate on condition. [1]

estate pur autre vie. See life estate pur autre vie.

estate tail quasi – An estate granted by a life tenant, who, despite using language of conveyance that is otherwise sufficient to create an estate tail, is unable to grant in perpetuity.

executed estate – See REMAINDER (1).

fast estate – See real property under PROPERTY.

future estate – See future interest‘under INTEREST (2).

leasehold estate – See LEASEHOLD.

life estate pur autre vie (par oh-tra vee) – (1888) A life estate for which the measuring life — the life whose duration determines the duration of the estate — is someone’s other than the possessor’s. — Also spelled life estate per autre we.

marital estate – See marital property under PROPERTY.

mesne estate – (17c) Hist. An estate held by a feudal lord who received it from a superior lord.  See MESNE LORD.

next eventual estate – (1836) An estate taking effect upon an event that terminates the accumulation of undisposed rents and profits; an estate taking effect when the existing estate terminates.

particular estate – An estate or interest less than a fee simple, such as a fee tail, a life estate, or a term for years.  *  It is so called because the estate is a mere part (particular) of the fee simple.

possessory estate – (18c) An estate giving the holder the right to possess the property, with or without an ownership interest in the property.

present estate – An estate in immediate possession; one vested at the present time, as distinguished from a future estate.  See present interest under INTEREST (2).

qualified estate – (18c) Any estate that is not absolute and unconditional; a limited or conditional estate. [1]

1. See qualified fee; qualified interest. [2]

reversionary estate – See REVERSION.

settled estate – (18c) An estate created or limited under a settlement; an estate in which the powers of alienation, devising, and transmission according to the ordinary rules of descent are restrained by the settlement’s terms. [1]

stipendiary estate(stI-pen-dee-er-ee)– (1880) Hist. An estate granted in return for services, usually of a military kind.

vested estate – (18c) An estate with a present right of enjoyment or a present fixed right of future enjoyment.

2. All that a person or entity owns, including both real and personal property.

bankruptcy estate: See BANKRUPTCY ESTATE.

3. The property that one leaves after death; the collective assets and liabilities of a dead person.

   “The word ‘estate’ was probably adopted because in early days it was possible to ascertain a man’s status or position in life by discovering the particular kind of tenure by which he held his lands.  The quality of his tenure gave a clue to his status.  The baron for example ought in theory to be the holder of a barony; he has the status of a baron because he has the estate of a baron. . . . [O]ne of the distinguishing marks of [the] freehold estates was the uncertainty of their duration.  They were invariably held either for life, or for some other space of time dependent upon an event which might not happen within a lifetime, and thus a freehold estate came to be regarded as one which involved the per. formance of free services only, but as one which endured for an uncertain time. In this way, the word ‘estate’ came to denote the quantity of a man’s interest in land.” Gt“ Cheshire, Modern Law of Real Property 26 (3d ed. 1933).

ancestral estate –(1850) An estate that is acquired by descent or by operation of law with no other consideration than that of blood.

nonancestral estate: (1868) An estate from any source other than the owner’s ancestors. — aka nonancestral property.

augmented estate – (1967) A refinement of the elective share to which a surviving spouse is entitled, whereby the “fair share” is identified as something other than the traditional one-third of the probate estate.  *  The current version of the Uniform Probate Code uses a sliding scale that increases with each year of marriage.  Under the UPC, a surviving spouse has accrued full marital-property rights after 15 years of marriage.  This percentage of spousal entitlement is applied to a reconceptualization of the decedent’s estate to take into account more than just the assets remaining in the probate estate at death.  Also added into the calculation are the value of certain inter vivos transfers that the decedent made to others in a way that depleted the probate estate; the .Value of similar transfers made to others by the spouse as well as the value of the marital property owned by the spouse at the decedent’s death; and the value of inter vivos transfers of property made by the decedent to the spouse. The Uniform Probate Code adopted this version of the augmented-estate concept in an attempt to equalize the treatment of surviving spouses in non-community~ property states vis-a-vis community property states. Unif. Probate Code § 2-202.  See ELECTIVE SHARE.

insolvent estate – the estate of a decedent which is to be administered according to a special statutory method because its assets are insufficient to cover its debts, taxes, and administrative expenses.

estate of inheritance – (16c) An estate that may descend to heirs. [1]

1. A freehold interest in land, otherwise called a fee, where the tenant is not only entitled to enjoy the land for his own life, but where, after his death, it is passed by the law upon the person or persons who successfully represent him in perpetuum in right of blood, according to a certain established order of descent. 28 Am J2d Est § 8. [2]

1. Also known as a fee, a freehold interest in land that is inheritable; i.e. an interest which the tenant is not only entitled to enjoy for his own lifetime, but which, after his death, if he leaves no will, his heirs will inherit under the intestate laws. [3]

 

heirless estate – (1956) The property of a person who dies intestate and without heirs.  See ESCHEAT.

 

net estate – See net probate estate under PROBATE ESTATE.

probate estate – 

 

decedent’s estate – (18c) The real and personal property that a person possesses at the time of death and that passes to the heirs or testamentary beneficiaries.

• gross estate – (1833) 1. The total value of a decedent’s property without any deductions.  2. Loosely, adjusted gross estate.
• residuary estate – (18c) The part of a decedent’s estate remaining after payment of all debts, expenses, statutory claims, taxes, and testamentary gifts (special, general, and demonstrative) have been made. — aka residual estate; residue; residuary; residuum.
• taxable estate – (18c) A decedent’s gross estate reduced by allowable deductions (such as administration costs and ESOP deductions). IRC (26 USCA) § 2051.  *  The taxable estate is the amount that is subject to the federal unified transfer tax at death.
• adjusted gross estate – (1932) 1. The total value of a decedent’s property after subtracting administration expenses, funeral expenses, creditors’ claims, and casualty losses.  *  The value of the adjusted gross estate is used in computing the federal estate tax. Cf. net probate estate under PROBATE ESTATE.  2. See gross estate (1).

 

4, A tract of land, especially one affected by an easement.

     “The old definitions of this word [estate] generally conflne it to lands or realty. Thus, according to Lord Coke, ‘state or estate signifieth such inheritance, freehold, term for years, &c., as any man hath in lands or tenements.’ Co. Litt. 345a. So Cowell deiines it to be ‘that title or interest which a man hath in lands or tenements,’ and the same definition is given in the Termes de la Ley. And this limited sense of the word has been relied on, in argument, in some cases . . . . But, according to the settled modern doctrine, the term estate is of much more extensive import and application, being indeed genus generalissimum, and clearly comprehending things personal as well as real; person as well as real estate.” 1 Alexander M. Burrill, A Law Dictionary and Glossary 561 (2d ed. 1867).

Estates with Easements:

dominant estate– (18c) An estate that benefits from an easement.— aka dominant tenement; dominant property; upper estate.  Cf. servient estate,

servient estate – (18c) An estate burdened by an easement. — aka servient tenement; servient property; lower estate.  Cf. dominant estate.

estate duty. See DUTY (4).

estate from period to period. See periodic tenancy under TENANCY.

estate in expectancy. See future interest under INTEREST (2).

Related Terms:

estate agent – See real-estate agent under AGENT.

estate freeze – (1986) An estate-planning maneuver whereby an owner of a closely held business exchanges common stock for dividend-paying preferred stock and gives the common stock to his or her children, thus seeking to guarantee an income in retirement and to avoid estate tax on future appreciation in the business’s value.

estate planning – (1938) 1. The preparation for the distribution and management of a person’s estate at death through the use of wills, trusts, insurance policies, and other arrangements, esp. to reduce administration costs and transfer-tax liability.

2. A branch of law that involves the arrangement of a person’s estate, taking into account the laws of wills, taxes, insurance, property, and trusts.

Mates of the realm – (16c) Engiish law. 1. The lords spiritual, the lords temporal, and the commons of the United Kingdom. — aka the three estates.

2. In feudal Europe, the clergy, nobles, and commons.  *  Because the rds spiritual had no separate assembly or negative in political capacity, some authorities reduce the estates United Kingdom to two, the lords and commons. In an ‘ about the 14th century), the three estatese the clergy, barons, and knights.  In legal practice, the lords spiritual and lords temporal are usu. collectively designated simply as lords.

estate’s property – See PROPERTY OF THE ESTATE

estate tax – See TAX.

estate trust – See TRUST (3).