Which statement is true about a life estate to A for life?

Which statement is true about a life estate to A for life?

• A. It lasts forever.
• B. It cannot be transferred.
• C. It ends on A's death, with a future interest in a remainderman or the grantor.
• D. It automatically becomes fee simple on grantor's death.

Answer: (C)

A life estate for A for life means A has the right to possess and use the property only for A’s lifetime. When A dies, that estate ends. What happens next depends on what the grantor did when creating the life estate: if no one else was given a future interest, the property reverts back to the grantor; if the grantor granted a future interest to someone else, that person is the remainderman and will take the property after A’s death. So the true statement is that the life estate ends on A’s death, leaving a future interest in a remainderman or in the grantor (as a reversion). The other ideas don’t fit: a life estate does not last forever; it can be transferred or encumbered during the life of the life tenant (though the transfer is still limited to the life of the measuring life); and it does not automatically become fee simple upon the grantor’s death—fee simple would only occur if there is a remainder that takes effect or if there is no retained or named remainder and the grantor’s interest reverts.

A life estate for A for life means A has the right to possess and use the property only for A’s lifetime. When A dies, that estate ends. What happens next depends on what the grantor did when creating the life estate: if no one else was given a future interest, the property reverts back to the grantor; if the grantor granted a future interest to someone else, that person is the remainderman and will take the property after A’s death. So the true statement is that the life estate ends on A’s death, leaving a future interest in a remainderman or in the grantor (as a reversion).

The other ideas don’t fit: a life estate does not last forever; it can be transferred or encumbered during the life of the life tenant (though the transfer is still limited to the life of the measuring life); and it does not automatically become fee simple upon the grantor’s death—fee simple would only occur if there is a remainder that takes effect or if there is no retained or named remainder and the grantor’s interest reverts.