While cleaning the waiting room at a doctor’s office, a privately contracted janitorial service found a wallet on the end table near the front door.  The nurse took the wallet from the janitor who found it and put it in the break room.  Later the receptionist found the wallet in the break room on the counter and put it in her purse. Assume that the original owner of the wallet is neither the janitor, nurse, receptionist or doctor.  Who has superior right to the wallet over all but the true owner provided that the doctor was running his own business?

William, a second-year law student, suffers from a life-threatening illness. He is currently under treatment but in contemplation of the worst he drafts a short handwritten will that states, “to my sister Samantha I give my ownership interest in Blueacre in full when I die; however, if Samantha ever tries to transfer that interest, then to my mother, Daniella.”  He hands the will to Samantha and tells her to keep the will safe in case the treatment doesn’t work.  William dies from his illness.  Assuming the will is valid, which of the following is a true statement?

Ophelia conveys Blueacre “to the City of Houston so long as Blueacre is used for a zoo.”  The City uses the land for a zoo for one hundred years, then begins negotiations to sell the land to the organization Friends of the Houston Zoo (“Friends”).  Friends plans to continue to operate Blueacre as a zoo.  You are the lawyer for Friends.  Which of the following is the best advice for Friends?

Joel and Mark, brothers, share ownership of a house. When Joel dies, Mark has sole ownership of the property. How was the house owned prior to Joel's death?

Alicia and Bart are married in a common law marital property state. The next day, Bart dies. Before Bart died, his estate consisted of Blueacre (which he held in fee simple determinable), Redacre (which he held in life estate), Greenacre (which he held in fee simple absolute, but as a joint tenancy with his son Charles), and $500,000 in cash, stocks, bonds, and other personal property. Assume Charles the son is still alive. In a jurisdiction that follows the common law rules regarding distribution of property at death, what will Alicia receive when Bart’s estate is distributed?

A husband and wife own property as tenants by the entirety. A victim of a car accident has a judgment against the wife after a court found she was negligent in causing a car accident that injured the victim. The victim properly filed the judgment and has a lien on the wife’s real property.  The victim sues to enforce the lien on the tenancy by the entirety. Who owns the land?

Tammy devises Blueacre "to my children as joint tenants with the right of survivorship." At the time of her death, Tammy had two children: Abe and Barbara. Abe and Barbara take out a loan and give the bank a mortgage on Blueacre. By agreement, Barbara pays her half of the loan payment to Abe, and Abe pays the other half. Abe is responsible for sending in the fully monthly mortgage payment to the bank. Abe fails to pay the mortgage for six months and the bank forecloses. At the foreclosure sale, Barbara purchases Blueacre and then files an action in ejectment to evict Abe from the land. Issues of fraud or theft by Abe aside, what will be the likely result?

Homer and Wanda are married in a common law marital property state that recognizes dower and curtesy. During marriage, Homer purchases Blueacre in fee simple absolute with his earnings. He takes title as joint tenants with right of survivorship with his brother, Ben. Homer and Wanda had no children. Homer dies. What is the state of Blueacre’s title?

Hunter and Willa, husband and wife, live in Arcadia, a common law marital property state.  They have no children.  Arcadia has a modern elective forced share statute that entitles a surviving spouse to one-half of all of the decedent spouse’s real and personal property devisable by will or descendible by intestacy.  Hunter and Willa own Blueacre as tenants by the entirety.  Willa saves from her earnings $120,000 in Arcadia.  Willa dies, devising all of her property to her sister, Sally.  Who owns the $120,000 and Blueacre?

Harry and Winifred are husband and wife. They purchase Blueacre, taking title as tenants by the entirety. Later, Harry and Winifred separate, but never officially divorce. Harry, finding himself in debt, sells his share of Blueacre to his brother, Buck. Harry dies, devising all of his real and personal property to his son Sam. In a suit between Winifred, Buck and Sam over ownership of Blueacre, a court will likely hold that:

Ashton, Blanche, and Chester own Blueacre as joint tenants with the right of survivorship. Chester dies, devising his entire estate to his wife Doris. Blanche sells her interest in Blueacre to Elmer. Blanche dies. Who owns Blueacre?

Blueacre is a large, undeveloped parcel of land. Terry devises Blueacre “to my children Alfie and Bliss.” Alfie uses Blueacre to graze cattle. Bliss, in need of money, sells her interest to Clyde. Clyde converts a portion of Blueacre into a motocross course, which he then opens to dirt bike racing. The racing disturbs the cattle and has resulted in loss of valuable grazing land. Alfie sues to stop Clyde’s use of the land. A court will most likely find for:

Lex and Shelley, a married couple, own Blueacre and hold it in a valid joint tenancy. Shelley dies, devising her entire estate to the daughter of her first marriage, Celia. Celia attempts to take possession of Blueacre, but Lex bars her possession. Celia sues. A court will most likely hold for:

Wayne and Yolanda own Redacre, a five-acre lot, as tenants in common. Yolanda clears an acre of the land and builds a house and garden. Wayne clears another portion of the land, moves an old trailer onto the property to live in, and begins raising goats. Soon thereafter, the goats begin to destroy Yolanda’s garden. Yolanda protests, arguing Wayne is not entitled to use her part of the lot for his goats. If Yolanda seeks judicial intervention, she should: