Retake Recovery Practice Set Preview

1. A.Give the neighbor written permission to use the strip
2. B.Wait and raise the issue whenever the land is sold
3. C.Keep paying all of the property taxes on the strip
4. D.Post a sign on the strip without contacting the neighbor

Why each choice works or fails

• A. Correct. Written permission makes the use permissive, which defeats the hostility element and stops the clock.
• B. Waiting lets the period keep running, and the claim may ripen before any sale.
• C. Paying taxes does not interrupt the neighbor's open, hostile possession.
• D. A sign alone does not grant permission or dispossess the neighbor, so the possession stays hostile and the clock keeps running.

Rule to remember: Adverse possession needs open, hostile, continuous use for the full period. Permission or a lawsuit stops it.

1. A.The surviving co-owner
2. B.The niece named in the will
3. C.The estate, for probate distribution
4. D.The survivor and the niece equally

Why each choice works or fails

• A. Correct. Survivorship passes the interest to the surviving co-owner.
• B. Candidates think a will controls everything. Survivorship takes effect first, so the will has nothing to pass.
• C. The interest passes outside probate, not through the estate.
• D. Survivorship is all or nothing. The interest is not split with the will's beneficiary.

Rule to remember: Survivorship beats a will and skips probate.

1. A.An easement
2. B.An encroachment
3. C.A license
4. D.A deed restriction

Why each choice works or fails

• A. An easement is a right to use land. A fence built over the line without any right is not one.
• B. Correct. A structure crossing onto another lot is an encroachment.
• C. A license is revocable permission, and no permission was given here.
• D. A deed restriction limits use by recorded covenant, not by a physical intrusion.

Rule to remember: Physical intrusion is an encroachment. A right to use is an easement.

1. A.A life estate pur autre vie
2. B.A remainder interest
3. C.A reversion
4. D.A leasehold estate

Why each choice works or fails

• A. Candidates see Anne's life in the grant and think pur autre vie. It is Anne who holds the life estate; the son holds the future interest.
• B. Correct. A third party named to take after the life estate holds a remainder.
• C. A reversion returns to the grantor, not to a named third party.
• D. A leasehold is a tenant's right under a lease, not a future ownership interest.

Rule to remember: Future interest to a third party is a remainder. Back to the grantor is a reversion.

1. A.The surface parcel cannot lawfully be conveyed
2. B.The buyer still owns everything lying beneath
3. C.The severance ends when the surface is sold
4. D.Another party may have rights to access and extract

Why each choice works or fails

• A. Severance splits the estates but leaves the surface fully conveyable.
• B. Candidates assume land ownership reaches to the center of the earth. After severance, the minerals belong to someone else.
• C. A severance is permanent unless reunited by conveyance, and it survives later surface sales.
• D. Correct. The mineral owner may have rights to reach and remove the minerals.

Rule to remember: Severed mineral rights stay with their owner, who may keep a right to reach and remove them.

1. A.0.06 acres
2. B.10 acres
3. C.90 acres
4. D.100 acres

Why each choice works or fails

• A. 0.06 acres divides the 2,640-foot perimeter by 43,560 instead of the area.
• B. Correct. 435,600 / 43,560 = 10 acres.
• C. 90 acres divides by 4,840, the square yards in an acre, instead of 43,560 square feet.
• D. 100 acres divides by 4,356 instead of 43,560, a dropped digit.

Work it through

1. 660 x 660 = 435,600 sq ft
2. 435,600 / 43,560 = 10 acres

Rule to remember: An acre is 43,560 square feet. Multiply the sides, then divide by 43,560.

1. A.Only spouses may hold it, and neither can sever it alone
2. B.Each co-owner may leave that share to heirs by will
3. C.The co-owners may hold unequal fractional shares
4. D.Any two or more unrelated people may hold title

Why each choice works or fails

• A. Correct. Spouses only, and neither spouse can sever it unilaterally.
• B. Survivorship defeats a will in both forms, so neither co-owner can leave a share by will.
• C. Unequal shares describe a tenancy in common, not either survivorship form.
• D. Unrelated co-owners can hold as joint tenants, but tenancy by the entirety requires marriage.

Rule to remember: Tenancy by the entirety is for spouses only, and one spouse cannot sever it alone. Georgia does not recognize it.

1. A.A well drilled on the parcel
2. B.Oak trees growing on the lot
3. C.A detached garage on a slab
4. D.A tractor parked in the barn

Why each choice works or fails

• A. A drilled well is a permanent improvement to the land.
• B. Candidates think anything alive is personal property, but naturally growing trees are part of the real estate.
• C. A garage built on a slab is a permanent improvement, even though it is detached.
• D. Correct. Movable equipment remains personal property.

Rule to remember: Land, what grows naturally on it, and what is permanently attached are real property. Movable equipment is not.

1. A.Require the trust to be dissolved before listing
2. B.Ask the beneficiaries to sign the listing
3. C.Obtain a court order approving the sale
4. D.Confirm the trustee has authority to sell

Why each choice works or fails

• A. Trust property is sold routinely without ending the trust.
• B. A beneficiary’s equitable interest does not by itself give the beneficiary the trustee’s signing authority.
• C. Court approval is not generally required when the trust instrument grants the power to sell.
• D. Correct. Confirm the trustee's authority to sell under the trust instrument.

Rule to remember: Before listing trust property, confirm the trustee has authority under the trust to sell.