The holder of which of the following would be a “nonfreeholder?”
Question & Answer
Review the question and all answer choices
Life estate
Option A is incorrect because a life estate is a freehold estate — it grants the holder (life tenant) ownership rights for the duration of their life or another measuring life, which is an indefinite period, placing it squarely in the freehold category.
Defeasible fee
Option B is incorrect because a defeasible fee (also called a fee simple defeasible) is a type of fee simple ownership — the highest form of freehold estate — that can be defeated or terminated upon the occurrence of a specified condition, but it remains a freehold interest until that condition occurs.
Unrecorded vendor’s deed
Option C is incorrect because an unrecorded vendor's deed still conveys fee simple ownership to the grantee — the failure to record affects priority against subsequent purchasers but does not change the nature of the estate conveyed, which remains a freehold interest.
Estate for years
Why is this correct?
Option D is correct because an estate for years is, by definition, a leasehold estate — it grants the holder the right to possess property for a fixed, defined period (which despite the name 'years' can be any measurable duration, even days or months) without conveying any ownership interest. Since leasehold estates are categorized as 'less-than-freehold' estates in California and national real estate law, the holder is a nonfreeholder. The estate for years is the most straightforward example of a leasehold because its termination date is known from the outset, requiring no notice to end.
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