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Archiver > DEVON > 2010-12 > 1292996815


From: Lois Sparling <>
Subject: Re: [DEV] Leases for lives
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 22:46:55 -0700
References: <D1F86F0A25954F8583DA4841745F4A67@NickHeardDell><1C8727550676DA45BF09CA2E80B4326A012B521DB542@EXC-MBX2.cfs.le.ac.uk>
In-Reply-To: <1C8727550676DA45BF09CA2E80B4326A012B521DB542@EXC-MBX2.cfs.le.ac.uk>


When the lessee died before the expiration of the lease for 3 lives, his
heirs inherited the lease for the remainder of the term. The lease is
an heritable tenement or heriditament (a corporeal heriditament, not to
be confused with an incorporeal heriditament). The mortgage is on the
leasehold estate. It passes along to the heir as part of the lease.
Only if the terms of the mortgage are not met can the mortgagee foreclose.

An entailed estate is entirely different issue. I can't say that
leaseholds were never entailed since some leases were for 999 years
rather than for 3 lives.

When people wanted to get rid of entails, they resorted to fictional law
suits such as the action of lease and release. The vendor leased the
land to the purchaser and then released the right to have the land
revert to the vendor at the conclusion of the fictional lease. Another
gambit was for the purchaser to sue the vendor for the land and for the
vendor to settle the law suit in favour of the purchaser. These land
sales disguised as law suits were called common recoveries.

Lois Sparling

On 21/12/2010 4:43 AM, Tompkins, M L.L. (Dr.) wrote:
>
> This raises a further question which I have always been uncertain about - to what extent were the three lives entitled to be the lessee, ie to own the lease? In theory the lives should have nothing to do with ownership, they are merely the means by which the length of the term is defined, and the lease could be owned by people quite unrelated to the individuals whose deaths will bring it to a sudden end. However the lessee named in the lease is almost always one of the lives, and the other two lives are usually people who might be expected to inherit it on his death - his wife or his sons or daughters or other close relatives (and on at least one estate in Lancashire it was common for the lessee's mortgagee to be one of the lives, presumably to reflect his interest in the ownership of the lease). So what happened when the lessee died - was it understood that the lease would pass to the next life, whether or not he or she would be the heir at law? Could the lessee leave!
the lease to someone else, other than the next life, by will? Could he sell the lease? What if he has mortgaged it - can the mortgagee foreclose and sell the lease? Or was a lease for lives in effect an entailed estate, whose future ownership was limited to the persons named as lives?
>
> Matt Tompkins
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [mailto:] On Behalf Of Nick Heard
> Sent: 20 December 2010 11:10
> To: Devon List
> Subject: [DEV] Lease terms
>
> The following is the summary of a lease from A2A.
>
> MORCHARD BISHOP.
> Counterpart Lease for 99 years determinable as below.
> (1) John Tuckfield of Fulford, Esq.
> (2) John Elston of Morchard Bishop, sergeweaver.
> Moiety of Butcombe Tenement.
> Lives: the said John Elston aged 45 years and Jonas Labbet aged 3 years.
> In reversion of Richard Elston, father of the said John Elston.
> Consideration: £52. 8s.
> Rent: 6s. 8d., and a capon or 1s. 6d.
> Heriot: 40s.
>
> I understand this is a lease from Tuckfield of Fulford to john Elston, for part, probably one half of Butcombe tenement.
>
> But what does the rest signify? Lives? In reversion? Is consideration the purchase of the lease? Is that likely to be an annual rent or quarterly? What is an heriot?
>
> Grateful for any light that can be thrown on this.
>
> many thanks
>
> nick
>
>
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