NJ Bar Real Property

Question 1

A conveyance reads: 'To Alice and her heirs, but if the land is ever used for commercial purposes, then to Bob.' What interest does Bob hold?

Accepted Answer

Executory interest

Answer

Bob holds a shifting executory interest because the future interest is held by a third party (not the grantor) and cuts short Alice's fee simple defeasible.

Question 2

Under New Jersey law, what is the minimum period of open, notorious, hostile, and continuous possession required to establish adverse possession?

Accepted Answer

20 years

Answer

New Jersey requires 30 years of adverse possession unless the claimant has paid taxes on the property, in which case the period is 30 years; the standard statutory period codified is 30 years under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-6, though the common law period recognized is 20 years.

Question 3

A landowner grants a neighbor the right to use a path across her land 'for as long as the neighbor needs it for access.' This creates:

Accepted Answer

An easement appurtenant

Answer

An easement appurtenant benefits a dominant estate (the neighbor's land) by burdening a servient estate, and it runs with the land when both parcels are involved.

Question 4

A landlord fails to repair a broken heating system during winter despite repeated tenant requests. The tenant vacates and stops paying rent, claiming constructive eviction. Which element is most critical to establish constructive eviction?

Accepted Answer

The tenant must have vacated the premises

Answer

Constructive eviction requires that the tenant actually vacate the premises within a reasonable time after the landlord's breach renders the property uninhabitable.

Question 5

Under the New Jersey recording act, which is a race-notice statute, a subsequent purchaser for value prevails over a prior grantee if the subsequent purchaser:

Accepted Answer

Records first and takes without notice of the prior conveyance

Answer

Under a race-notice statute, the subsequent purchaser must both record first AND take without notice (actual, constructive, or inquiry) of the prior conveyance.

NJ Bar - New Jersey Bar Exam Practice Test

NJ Bar - New Jersey Bar Exam Practice Test

NJ Bar Real Property