Also known as: legal life estate · life estate
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A present possessory estate in land whose duration is measured by the life of one or more designated persons and that is created directly by deed or will without the intervention of a trust. The life tenant holds the right to possession and use during the measuring life while the remainder interest passes automatically upon the life tenant's death according to the original grant. Legal life estates function as will substitutes because the transfer of possession at death results from the initial division of estates rather than from any testamentary act by the life tenant.
Leonard Lowe died domiciled in the state leaving his family home to his surviving spouse Lena Lawson. Lena already held a constitutional homestead life estate in the home. The personal representative charged the value of that life estate against Lena's statutory homestead allowance under the uniform code.
Luke Latham executed a deed conveying a painting to his son Logan Lane while expressly reserving a life estate for himself. Luke retained possession until his death. Upon Luke's death the court recognized that Logan held full ownership from the date of the deed because the remainder vested immediately subject only to the reserved life estate.
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Lila Lin held a legal life estate in a historic residence under her mother's will. Lila removed load-bearing walls and ceased all maintenance causing structural damage. The remainderman sued Lila for waste seeking an injunction and damages measured by the impairment to the remainder interest.
Layla Lane conveyed land to her daughter for life with remainder to the daughter's heirs. The court applied the rule of worthier title and held that Layla retained a reversion rather than creating a remainder in the heirs because the limitation ran back to the grantor's own heirs.
Lena Lawson and her sister held the family farm as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Lena executed a deed conveying her interest to herself as tenant in common thereby severing the joint tenancy. The court confirmed that each sister thereafter held an undivided one-half interest subject to the other's life estate rights.
Logan Lane's estate involved a legal life estate created under state law. The federal tax court accepted the state court's construction of the life estate because the state decision authoritatively determined property rights under local law. The federal authorities therefore applied the state characterization for estate tax purposes.
The life tenant's death causes possession to pass automatically to the remainderman under the original grant rather than through any testamentary transfer by the life tenant. Because the division of estates occurred at the time of the deed or will the property never enters the life tenant's probate estate.
A legal life tenant must avoid waste by preserving the property and may be required to post a bond in some circumstances. Unlike a trustee the life tenant does not owe fiduciary duties to the remainderman but remains subject to actions for affirmative or permissive waste.
Yes when the form of a gift over after a life estate manifests an intent that the life tenant hold a power to dispose of the remainder. The Restatement recognizes that such language can imply a power appendant to the life estate.
The value of any constitutional homestead life estate received by a surviving spouse or child is charged against the statutory homestead allowance to the extent the home forms part of the decedent's estate. This prevents double recovery of the homestead protection.
…that he has never had possession of the painting but asserts that his father made a valid gift of the title in 1963 reserving a life estate for himself. His father retained possession of the painting until he died in 1980. Defendant, plaintiff’s stepmother, has the painting now and has refused plaintiff’s requests that she turn…