Determine Who Has a Legal Interest in the Land
You have to know who has a legal interest in the land so you can determine how they could help -- or hinder -- your plans for protecting the land.
The Certificate of Title (example)and the extra pages that come with it are the place to start. Read them carefully and try to identify any or all of the following legal interests.
Warning!!!
There could be other legal interests in the land that are not mentioned on the Certificate of Title. To be sure, consult a lawyer.
Ownership Interests:
fee simple definition
joint tenancy definition (If the land is owned by two or more people (or companies) in joint tenancy, then you will need the approval of both or all of them to grant an interest in the land.)
tenancy in common definition (Where the Certificate of Title shows two or more owners of the land and does not specify that they hold the land as joint tenants, then they own the land as tenants in common. In this case, you will need the approval of all the tenants in common to grant an interest in the land.)
determinable fee simple definition (If the land is owned by a person (or company) with a determinable fee simple, then you will need the approval of the holder of the reversionary interest (the person who would own the land if the condition is broken) to grant a legal interest in the land that would remain if the condition were broken.
fee simple subject to a condition subsequent definition (If the land is owned by a person (or company) with a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent, then you will need the approval of the holder of the reversionary interest (the person who could recover ownership of the land if the condition is broken) in order to grant a legal interest in the land that would remain even if the condition were broken.)
life estate definition (If the land is owned by a person with a life estate, then you will need the approval of the remainderman or remaindermen (the person(s) who become owners of the land upon the death of the person with the life estate) in order to grant a legal interest in the land that would remain after the death of the life tenant.)
legal trust definition (If land is owned by someone in trust for a beneficiary, the Certificate of Title may or may not show this fact. If the land is owned by someone in trust (the "trustee"), then the trustee cannot grant a legal interest in the land unless doing so would be within the terms of the trust. In order to know the terms of trust you will have to look at the will, trust deed or other document that created the trust. Usually, the trust instrument is filed in the Land Registry.)
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