Real Property

Real property means land and the structures fixed to it, in contrast to movable chattels. It is usually the most valuable asset in a deceased estate and almost always requires a grant of representation before it can be sold or transferred. How real property passes depends on how it is owned: property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner by survivorship and falls outside the Will.

An executor must decide whether to transfer real property to a beneficiary "in specie" or sell it and distribute the proceeds. Example: "The estate's only real property was a unit in Perth, which the executor transferred directly into the daughter's name rather than selling it." A devise of real property in a Will is called a devise; gifts of personal property are bequests.