Legal Definitions - contingent ownership

Contingent ownership is when someone owns something, but they can only keep it if a certain condition happens. This means that the owner does not have full rights to the property until the condition is met. It is also called conditional ownership.

For example, if someone writes in their will that they leave their house to their daughter, but only if she gets married before she turns 30, then the daughter has a contingent ownership of the house. She can only keep the house if she gets married before she turns 30. If she doesn't, then she loses her ownership of the house.

Another example is if someone gives their car to their friend, but only if the friend gets their driver's license. The friend has a contingent ownership of the car because they can only keep it if they get their driver's license.

These examples show that contingent ownership is when someone owns something, but they can only keep it if a certain condition happens. If the condition is not met, then they lose their ownership of the property.