[1] A split estate is similar to the Broad Form Deed, a type of legal document created in the United States in the early 1900s.
These documents were used to sever property into mineral and surface rights, just like a split estate today.
[2] In the 49 United States practicing British common law (the 50th, Louisiana, derived its law from French and Napoleonic Code), a split estate is created when the original fee simple owner sells or otherwise loses ownership of the subsurface, often called the mineral estate.
Who owns the right to exploit the underground is important in case it contains minerals, oil, or natural gas.
[5][6][7] This article relating to law in the United States or its constituent jurisdictions is a stub.