| All the three estates of freehold interest might | | | | in that the land comes back to the person who |
| possibly exist at one and the same time over the | | | | granted the intervening interest (the "grantor") |
| piece of Jamaica land. This does not mean that there | | | | instead of passing on to someone else. |
| would be three tenants simultaneously entitled to the | | | | Of course the same grant may contain both a |
| same Jamaica real estate. An estate may give a man | | | | remainder and a reversion, as where X who has a |
| the right to the immediate present possession of the | | | | fee simple estate in possession in Whiteacre, grants |
| land or it may only give him the right to go into | | | | Whiteacre "to V for life and then to Z in tail". Here V |
| possession and to enjoy the land at some future | | | | has a life estate in possession and Z an estate tail in |
| date, In the former case the tenant is said to have | | | | remainder. |
| "an estate in possession'; in the latter "an estate in | | | | But again the gift of the estate tail to Z does not |
| remainder" or very often simply "a remainder". | | | | exhaust X's interest in the land, because a fee simple |
| Remainders might be illustrated in this way. When the | | | | is of longer duration than a fee tail, so that X still has |
| owner of a fee simple estate in possession alienates | | | | a fee simple in reversion and on the failure of all Z's |
| his land he may pass to the new tenant the whole | | | | descendants the land will revert to X in fee simple. |
| fee simple estate in possession, which was | | | | Before leaving this point it is important that it should |
| everything that the old tenant had to give; the new | | | | be understood that although an estate may be in |
| tenant is then entitled to the present enjoyment of | | | | remainder or in reversion and in consequence give no |
| the land and no question of remainders arises. | | | | immediate right to possession of the land, the estate |
| Suppose, however, A is tenant in fee simple in | | | | itself, as opposed to the time at which possession |
| possession of Blackacre and grants Blackacre "to B | | | | may be obtained is, nevertheless, Jamaica property |
| for life and then to C in fee simple". Here B will | | | | which is immediately valuable and transferable. |
| receive a life estate and since it carries with it the | | | | In the last example quoted in the previous paragraph, |
| immediate right to enjoy the land, it will be a life | | | | Z's descendants might not fail and Z's estate tail |
| estate in possession. C, on the other hand, gets a | | | | might therefore continue, for say three hundred |
| fee simple, but since he is only entitled to enjoy the | | | | years. X, however, having a fee simple in reversion, |
| land when B dies, it will be a fee in remainder. | | | | has a piece of property which he can leave in his will |
| In this example, A has granted away the whole | | | | or sell in his lifetime, or if he dies without making a |
| estate in the land which he formerly held, because | | | | will, the fee simple will pass, with his other property, |
| the grant ends with a gift of the fee simple in | | | | to those persons entitled on an intestacy. |
| remainder to C. If, however, A had only granted | | | | A remainder or reversion therefore, is the subject of |
| Blackacre "to B for life", what would happen to | | | | present ownership. The difficulty of understanding |
| Blackacre on B's death? Here it can be seen that A | | | | this concept is largely because to the non-legal mind it |
| has not granted away the whole of his estate, but | | | | is the land which is the subject of ownership. We |
| only a part of it, namely, a life estate and the rest of | | | | have seen, however, that a tenant owns no land but |
| the estate, after taking B's life estate out of it, | | | | only an estate in the land, the estate giving him a |
| remains the property of A. | | | | right to enjoy the land either immediately or at some |
| Consequently on B's death the land will come back or | | | | future date and for a shorter or longer period. |
| revert, to A. A's right to the land in this case is a | | | | The estate and the land to which it relates are thus |
| right to enjoy the land when B dies and because, | | | | two distinct matters and an estate may be the |
| when this happens, the land reverts to A, A's estate | | | | subject of present ownership although the right |
| is called "a reversion". A reversion is thus similar to a | | | | which it gives to possession of Jamaica real estate |
| remainder in that the right to enjoy the land is | | | | and land may be postponed for many years. |
| postponed to a future date, but is unlike a remainder | | | | |