Life estate
National Real Estate Exam glossary · Property Ownership
Definition
A freehold estate measured by the duration of a person's life. The life tenant may use and profit from the property but may not commit waste, and the estate ends at the measuring life's death, passing to a remainderman (named third party) or reverting to the grantor (reversion).
Life estate in plain English
A life estate lets someone use and enjoy a property for exactly as long as they're alive — no more, no less. Picture a grandmother allowed to live in and rent out a house for the rest of her days; she can collect the income but can't trash the place or tear it down (that's called 'waste'), because it isn't fully hers to destroy. The moment she passes away, her rights vanish and the property automatically goes to a pre-named person (the 'remainderman') or snaps back to whoever gave it to her. So it's real ownership, but with a built-in expiration date tied to a human life.
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