Examples of these two interests are as follows: If A grants a piece of land to B to hold during his life, but provides that after his death it shall to C, C's right to possess the property after the life estate is known as a vested remainder, since it is an estate that will vest certainly, sooner or later. B has the land during his life, and he may sell this life interest, but when he dies, C's right accrues, and it is always defi nitely known who will take the remainder.
If A grants a piece of land to B for the term of the latter's natural life, with the provision that upon B's death it shall go to C, if living, but if C be not living that it shall go to D, then D's interest is a contingent remainder. D will get the property if C dies before B, but it cannot be known beforehand whether D will get it or not. It will be seen that in this case C's in terest in the land is a vested remainder, subject to being divested if he dies before B.
12. Dower.—In many states, including the State of New York, a wife has a right in her husband's real property, known as dower. Dower is the right of the wife upon the death of her husband to have for life the use of, or income from, one-third of all real property that the husband owned at any time during their married life. Because the right becomes ef fective only after the husband's death it is ',mown as an inchoate right. No act of the husband's can defeat the right, but if ,the wife voluntarily joins with her husband in a deeding of the land to a third party, her dower right in the property, conveyed by the deed, is barred. If they jointly effect a mortgage, the mort gage is superior to the dower right. The law does not permit the woman to release dower to the man at any time during married life, but it may be released to him by an ante-nuptial agreement.
In some states, dower attaches only to such prop erty as the husband may own at the time of his death.
13. Estates by courtesy.—There is a similar right which husbands have in the real property owned by their wives, known as an estate by courtesy. If real property is owned by a wife at the time of her death and not disposed of by will, and she bits had a child or children (whether the issue survives or not) the husband is entitled to the use for life of the real property thus left, or to the rents of the property dur ing his life. That interest of the husband can be de
feated at any time by the wife's conveying it during her lifetime, or disposing of it by her will. In several of the states, however, of which Vermont and New Hampshire are examples, the common law rule that a wife cannot bar her husband's courtesy by deed, en cumbrance or will, is still in force.
14. Joint tenants and tenants in common.—Land is frequently owned in fee simple by two or more per sons. Sometimes the owners hold it as joint tenants. The principal feature of this form of ownership is that if one of the joint tenants dies, his share does not pass to his heirs or devisees, but vests in the survivor or survivors of the joint tenancy.
If the land is owned by two or more persons as tenants in common, each one is said to own an undi vided interest. At death this interest passes to the heirs or devisees, just as it would if the deceased owned the entire fee.
When land is owned by husband and wife jointly, the ownership is known as a tenancy by the entirety... Neither one, acting individually, can alienate the property. At the death of one the survivor gets all the property.
Both joint tenants and tenants in common can sell or mortgage their respective interests in the land dur ing their lifetime. A grantee of a joint tenant would become a tenant in common with his cotenants.
15. Chattel principal chattel inter ests are leaseholds and liens. A leasehold is the right _ to occupy the property of another in consideration of the payment of rent. It is a chattel interest whether the term is for 999 years, or only for one month. A lien is a claim upon the property of another, arising from a debt or obligation which entitles the holder of the lien, if it is not satisfied, to sell or require the sale of the property. Both leaseholds and liens are more fully considered under separate chapters.
16. Limitations upon ownership of a civilized community, there is no such thing as the ownership of either real or personal property, un limited as to duration and free from limitations as to use. Our civilization holds individual rights and ownership in the highest respect but, at the same time, it imposes thru its laws such limitations upon the own ership of property as it deems necessary for the good of the community.