Where can I find information on Lifetime Rights on real estate?

Question

I would like to find some information on lifetime rights for real estate. Are there any good legal sites where I can read about it and where would I find a contract that explains the agreements. I live in Ohio.

Answer 1

Are you referring to a life estate or life interest?

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WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATE PLANNING
Donald Thompson, Chicago

Life Estate
This is also referred to as a life interest. Someone with a life estate has a right to the use of the asset in which she or he has a life estate for her or his life. The right can also exist for the life of someone else. The right extends to the use of the asset and the income from it. The right does not extend to consuming the asset. These concepts arose with respect to land. The holder of the life estate, called a life tenant, could farm the land, sell the crops and keep the proceeds. The life tenant could also live in any house on the land. The life tenant could not sell the land outright. Nowadays this concept is usually applied to financial assets. The life tenant has the right to income, but not principal. For practical reasons, assets to be used by a beneficiary for life are usually put in trust so a trustee has control over them with power to enforce the terms of the life tenancy..

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

A life estate, at common law is an estate in real property that ends at death. Although it is technically a tenancy (the holder is called a life tenant), it is treated the same as a fee simple with respect to the constraints upon its use for the duration of the estate.

Since it ends at death, and the owner of the life estate cannot leave it to his heirs or convey a larger interest in the land than what the owner actually owns, a life estate is not an estate of inheritance. Life estates are measured either by the life of the owner of the estate, or by the life of some other person; these latter are called life estates pur autre vie, Law French for "during someone else's life." A life estate pur autre vie is most commonly created in one of two circumstances.

First, when the owner of property conveys his interest in that property to another person, for the life of a third person. For example if Joey conveys Blackacre to Rachel during the life of Monica, then Rachel owns the land for as long as Monica lives; if Rachel dies before Monica, Rachel's heirs will inherit the land, and will continue to own it for as long as Monica lives.

Second, if Joey conveys Blackacre to Monica for life, Monica can then sell the life estate to Rachel. Again, Rachel and Rachel's heirs will own the land for as long as Monica lives

In either scenario, once Monica dies, the ownership of the land will revert to Joey. If Joey has died, ownership will revert to Joey's heirs. The right to succeed to ownership of the property upon the expiration of the life estate is called a remainder.