life estate

British

noun

property that may be held only for the extent of the holder's lifetime

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Generally, a life estate trumps a prenuptial agreement, and a prenup trumps a will.

From MarketWatch

Related: ‘People are often unreasonable when money is involved’: My husband, 62, gave me a 5-year life estate.

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We created a life estate trust for the house.

From MarketWatch

Your husband’s three children could, it’s true, make it difficult for you if the life estate is not suitably specific.

From MarketWatch

Your stepson is estranged from your father and may even be unhappy with your being given a life estate in his father’s home.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023