life estate

n (Law) property that may be held only for the extent of the holder's lifetime

Thesaurus

Noun

life estate - (law) an estate whose duration is limited to the life of the person holding itestate for lifelaw, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"estate - everything you own; all of your assets (whether real property or personal property) and liabilitiesdower - a life estate to which a wife is entitled on the death of her husband

life estate

Life Estate

An estate whose duration is limited to the life of the party holding it, or some other person.

life estate

n. the right to use or occupy real property for one's life. Often this is given to a person (such as a family member) by deed or as a gift under a will with the idea that a younger person would then take the property upon the death of the one who receives the life estate. Title may also return to the person giving or deeding the property or to his/her surviving children or descendants upon the death of the life tenant--this is called "reversion." Example of creation of a life estate: "I grant to mother, Molly McCree, the right to live in and/or receive rents from said real property, until her death," or "I give my daughter, Sadie Hawkins, said real property, subject to a life estate to my mother, Molly McCree." This means a woman's mother, Molly, gets to live in the house until she dies, then the woman's daughter, Sadie, will own the property.

life estate

an estate of freehold that exists for the duration of the life of the grantee. If the grantee should assign his interest, that taken by the assignee is referred to as an estate pur autre vie (i.e. ‘an estate for the life of someone else’, namely the original grantee). Since 1925 a life estate can exist only as an equitable interest behind a trust.

See INSURABLE INTEREST, INSURANCE.

life estate

Life Estate

Real estate owned only for the duration of one's life, at which time it reverts to the original owner. The owner of a life estate, called a life tenant, has all rights associated with ownership of property except the right to sell the property. Upon the death of the life tenant, the life estate reverts back to the owner, or to a third party designated by the owner. For example, in a will, a farmer may grant ownership of his farm to his children, subject to the life estate of their mother. In this situation, the mother holds the life estate and has the right to live in the farm house for the rest of her life. A life estate may be included in one's gross estate.

life estate

The right to use and enjoy real estate for a limited time measured by someone's life— either the owner of the life estate or someone else. Often used as an estate planning tool so that elderly people can sell their property or give it to relatives,but still retain the right to continue living in it.

Example: Mary Smith, who is 85 years old, has a life estate in Blackacre, but it's for the life of 10-year-old Ashley Brown. As a result, Mary and her heirs will be able to use the property until Ashley dies, hopefully some time in the distant future.

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Synonyms for life estate

noun (law) an estate whose duration is limited to the life of the person holding it

Synonyms

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