future interest

In property law, future interest is the right to possess property in the future.

A future interest is in direct contrast with a present right to property, also referred to as a possessory estate .  A future interest may be conditioned upon the occurrence of a certain condition or event, or it can also be unconditional.

Future interests are created at the formation of a defeasible estate .  The future interest will either take effect following the natural termination of the prior estate or will cut short the prior estate.

Life Estate

A life estate is a future interest that will result in ownership of the property only after the present possessory estate has run its course.

When a life estate is assigned, there are certain interests that may force the life estate to end early, which will shorten the life estate.

Executory Interest

An executory interest is a future interest in property that will be triggered on the happening of a stated event and will pass the property to a third party .

Non-Executory Interest

Executory interests will pass the property to a third party, however, there are future interests that will return the property to the grantor upon the triggering of a certain condition. There are two kinds of these interests:

Further Reading

For more on future interests, see this Washington and Lee Law Review article , this Seattle University Law Review article , and this Vanderbilt University Law School publication.

[Last reviewed in December of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

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