Also known as: estates in remainder · remainder · remainder interest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A future interest in property that becomes possessory upon the natural termination of a prior estate such as a life estate. The holder of the interest has no right to possession until the prior estate ends but holds a protected property right that can be transferred or devised.
Esme Ellington contracted to convey Blackacre to her nephew for life with remainder to his children. The contract contained an unconscionable clause waiving all warranties on title. A court refused to enforce the unconscionable term but upheld the life estate and remainder interests created by the conveyance.
Eugene Ellsworth created a trust giving his daughter a life estate with remainder outright to his disabled grandson. After the settlor died, changed circumstances prompted a court to convert the remainder into a special needs trust. The modification preserved assets for the grandson while advancing the trust purpose.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Ezra Eastman sold land to a buyer under a contract that included an unconscionable penalty clause. The buyer received a life estate with remainder to his heirs. The court severed the unconscionable clause yet upheld the life estate and remainder interests created by the conveyance.
Esther Eisenberg held a life estate in commercial property with remainder to her son. A municipal zoning ordinance reduced the land's development potential. The son asserted that the remainder interest suffered a taking, but the ordinance was upheld as a valid exercise of police power.
Ethan Evans devised land to his daughter for life with remainder to a housing developer. A village denied rezoning that would have allowed affordable units on the remainder parcel. The developer claimed the denial had a discriminatory purpose affecting the future interest.
Emanuel Escobar owned a remainder interest in Florida land subject to a life estate held by a Delaware resident. A Florida court asserted jurisdiction over a dispute concerning the remainder after the life tenant died. The court required minimum contacts with the forum state for the action to proceed.
A remainder follows a prior estate and passes to a third party while a reversion returns to the grantor or the grantor's heirs. Both are future interests but the identity of the holder determines the classification.
Yes. The holder of a remainder may convey, devise, or encumber the interest even though possession is postponed until the prior estate ends.
The remainderman may obtain injunctive relief or damages to protect the future interest. Courts recognize that the remainder is a protected property right that the life tenant cannot destroy.
…to include same-sex couples. The highest courts of five States have decreed that same result under their own Constitutions. The remainder of the States retain the traditional definition of marriage. Petitioners brought lawsuits contending that the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment compel…