FL Bar Real Property 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Florida, which form of concurrent ownership is presumed between married couples and includes a right of survivorship that cannot be defeated by a unilateral conveyance?
- Tenancy in common
- Joint tenancy
- Tenancy by the entirety (Correct answer)
- Community property
Correct answer: Tenancy by the entirety
Florida's tenancy by the entirety is reserved for married couples and creates a right of survivorship that a single spouse cannot sever or convey alone.
Question 2: Florida's homestead exemption protects a primary residence from forced sale by creditors, but does NOT protect against which of the following?
- Unsecured credit card debt
- General tort judgments
- Purchase money mortgages and mechanic's liens (Correct answer)
- Medical debt judgments
Correct answer: Purchase money mortgages and mechanic's liens
Florida's constitutional homestead exemption does not protect against purchase money mortgages, mortgages for improvements, or validly imposed mechanic's and materialman's liens.
Question 3: A recording act that provides that a subsequent purchaser who records first and has no notice of a prior unrecorded conveyance prevails is called a:
- Notice statute
- Race statute
- Race-notice statute (Correct answer)
- Shelter rule
Correct answer: Race-notice statute
A race-notice statute protects a subsequent bona fide purchaser only if they both take without notice of the prior conveyance AND record first.
Question 4: Under Florida law, which type of deed provides the grantee with the greatest protection through covenants of title?
- Quitclaim deed
- Special warranty deed
- General warranty deed (Correct answer)
- Bargain and sale deed
Correct answer: General warranty deed
A general warranty deed contains covenants — including seisin, quiet enjoyment, and warranty — that run with the land and bind the grantor as to all defects, regardless of when they arose.
Question 5: Adverse possession in Florida requires possession that is actual, open, notorious, continuous, hostile, and for a statutory period of:
- 5 years
- 7 years (Correct answer)
- 10 years
- 20 years
Correct answer: 7 years
Florida Statutes § 95.18 requires adverse possession for 7 years (or 7 years with color of title and payment of taxes under § 95.16).
Question 6: Which interest in property grants the holder a possessory right to use another's land for a specific purpose, such as a utility corridor?
- License
- Easement appurtenant
- Easement in gross (Correct answer)
- Profit à prendre
Correct answer: Easement in gross
An easement in gross gives a specific individual or entity (like a utility company) the right to use another's land for a defined purpose, without requiring a dominant tenement.
FL Bar Real Property 1
In Florida, which form of concurrent ownership is presumed between married couples and includes a right of survivorship that cannot be defeated by a unilateral conveyance?