Property lawLesson 2 of 5 in the course Estates and leases

Life Estates: Interests, Duties, Planning, and Legal Treatment

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

A life estate is a form of real-property ownership that lasts for a defined person's lifetime. This lesson introduces the people, interests, and timelines that make life estates different from permanent ownership.

A life estate (also called a life tenancy) is an estate in real property that lasts for the life of a specified person. The person holding the present right to possess and enjoy the property is the life tenant. The life tenant is often also the person whose life measures the duration of the estate.

All flashcards

What is a life estate?
A present interest in real property that lasts for the life of a specified person and ends when that measuring life dies.
Who is the life tenant?
The person who holds the present right to possess and enjoy property subject to a life estate.
What is a measuring life?
The person's life that sets the duration of the life estate. The estate ends when that person dies.
What are a remainder and a remainderman?
A remainder is a future interest that takes effect after the life estate ends. The person entitled to that interest is the remainderman.
What does pur autre vie mean?
It means “for the life of another”: the estate lasts for the lifetime of someone other than its current holder.

Quiz questions

  1. A conveys land to B for the life of C. Whose life measures the estate?Answer: C's life, even though B holds the present interest.
  2. When a life tenant transfers the tenant's interest, what does the transferee generally receive?Answer: An interest limited by the same measuring life.
  3. Under a grant to a life tenant with no remainder named, what is a reversion?Answer: A future interest returning to the grantor or the grantor's successors.
  4. How does a life estate differ from a lease for a specified number of years?Answer: Its duration is measured by a person's life rather than a fixed term.
  5. In the United States, what may happen when an owner validly transfers a home's remainder to an heir while retaining a life estate?Answer: The heir may receive the home outside probate when the life estate ends.

Based on the Wikipedia article Life estate, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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