News & Analysis as of

Life Estates

Kaufman & Canoles

Court of Appeals of Virginia Determines Will Creates Determinable Life Estate with a Contingent Fee Simple Subject to a Condition...

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On Tuesday, in Brown v. Johnson, Record No. 0491-23-4 (Ct. App. Va. April 16, 2024), available here, the Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed a decision from the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, holding that a will created a...more

Law School Toolbox

Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 251: Listen and Learn -- Present and Future Estates (Part 2)

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Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! Today, we're diving into the second part of our discussion on present estates and future interests. In the previous episode we reviewed the default property interest, the fee...more

Oliva Gibbs LLP

The Suspense is Killing Me! – When Formal Notice May be Required Under North Dakota’s Suspense Statute

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In Powell v. Statoil Oil & Gas LP, the North Dakota Supreme Court found that failure to properly notify a suspended royalty owner of an alleged title defect may allow for statutory interest under North Dakota’s “Suspense...more

Lippes Mathias LLP

Should I Create a Life Estate?

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What Is a Life Estate? Life estates are most commonly used with real estate and are created by the owner of the property. If you own your home, you are considered the life estate tenant. As the life estate tenant, you...more

Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson PLLC

Remember the Remainderman: Rights and Responsibilities of a “Life Tenant” in Washington State

In the State of Washington, a life estate is a legal arrangement where a person, known as the “life tenant,” has the right to use and occupy a property for the duration of his or her life. The life tenant has all the same...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

More Marriages Being Contested In Probate Litigation

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We are increasingly seeing more disputes over the validity of marriages in probate litigation. A recurring fact pattern is that a romantic partner will attempt to orchestrate a marriage to the second partner, who is suffering...more

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C.

What Is a Life Estate?

When discussing estate and Medicaid planning, the phrase “life estate” is sometimes mentioned, but what does it mean? A life estate is a form of joint ownership that allows one person to remain in a house until his or her...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Another Smorgasbord Of Opinions From The Court Of Appeals

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On May 3, 2022, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a large batch of opinions. By my count, twenty-two were published and thirty were unpublished. While history may prove me wrong, none of the published opinions...more

Roetzel & Andress

One Less Way for Ohio Landowners to Challenge Royalty Severances

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On February 15, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a significant decision in Peppertree Farms, L.L.C. v. Thonen establishing that, unless expressly stated otherwise, an oil and gas royalty interest retained in a deed...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That Trust Owned Mineral Interests And Not The Settlor’s Wife

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In Moore v. Estate of Moore, a decedent’s wife claimed that she had an interest in an oil and gas lease formerly owned by her deceased husband. No. 07-20-00019-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 6142 (Tex. App.—Amarillo July 30, 2021,...more

Holland & Knight LLP

How Can the Same Right Create 2 Separate Property Interests?

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can file a lien and levy on any and all of a taxpayer's property (and rights to property) regardless of how the property is held or titled. 26 U.S.C. § 6321. Whether the item is a taxpayer's...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Whaddaya Mean My Dead Ex Is Getting A Cut Of My Pension?

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Defined benefit pensions, the ones that payout monthly, are strange animals. They are rare today except where unions and public agencies are found, and they can produce some odd results. Carl Jagnow married his wife...more

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP

Replacing Lost Revenues for Charities: Ways to Consider Charitable Giving Diversification

Nonprofit organizations with traditional reliance on event fundraising are now in a position to solicit donors in an alternate manner because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an opportune time to launch formal annual and...more

Gray Reed

Family History Guides Interpretation of a Texas Will

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Generally, if your will leaves your beloved “all … right, title and interest in and to”, said beloved would receive the entirety of your interest, whether a surface estate, mineral estate, or both. But in ConocoPhillips, et...more

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C.

Protecting Your House from Medicaid Estate Recovery

After a Medicaid recipient dies, the state must attempt to recoup from his or her estate whatever benefits it paid for the recipient's care. This is called "estate recovery." For most Medicaid recipients, their house is the...more

Flaster Greenberg PC

Top Tips For A Successful Medicaid Spend Down

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Finding the best long-term care, and a way to pay for that care with public benefits, is of critical importance to the elderly, the disabled and their families. The national median cost of long term care in a private room in...more

Rosenberg Martin Greenberg LLP

Demystifying Life Estate Deeds in Maryland

In Maryland, you can make a beneficiary designation on your real property. This type of transaction is called a Life Estate Deed. It can be a very useful tool to avoid probate while also preserving tax benefits. There are two...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That A Will Left A Partial Intestacy

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In Sullivan v. Hatchett, a husband executed a will giving his wife a life estate in his property. No. 07-17-00296-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 980 (Tex. App.—Amarillo February 11, 2019, no pet. history)....more

Downey Brand LLP

California Courts Can Excuse Trustee Who Acts in Good Faith

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A California trustee can be excused from liability for breaches of trust if a judge determines that it would be equitable to do so. We see many situations where a family member trustee strays from the requirements of the...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Wills, Trusts & Estates: Plain and Simple – “Do I Need a Will?”

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A Last Will and Testament directs your Executor how and to whom your assets are to be disposed. If you do not have a Will, assets in your name when you die will pass under New York State’s intestacy laws. However, only the...more

Winstead PC

Texas Supreme Court Holds That Testator Devised Property As A Life Estate

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In Knopf v. Gray, the will disposed of the testator’s entire estate, specifically including a tract of land. No. 17-0262, 2018 Tex. LEXIS 249 (Tex. March 23, 2018)....more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That A Wife Devised Her Property In Fee Simple Determinable To Her Husband With An Executory Interest To Her Son; So,...

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In In re Estate of Hernandez, the issue in the case was whether clauses in a will conveyed a life estate to the decedent’s husband. No. 05-16-01350-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 755 (Tex. App.—Dallas January 24, 2018, no pet....more

Bowditch & Dewey

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Ruled Irrevocable Income-Only Trusts a Viable Tool in Long-term Care Planning

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In Mary E. Daley v. Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and Lionel C. Nadeau v. Director of the Office of Medicaid, which were consolidated in an appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court,...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That Will Created Void Alienation On Restraint

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In Knopf v. Gray, a decedent died in 1993, and her will was admitted to probate the same year. No. 10-15-00273-CV, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 191 (Tex. App.—Waco January 11, 2017, no pet. history). ...more

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C.

Are You Considering Remarrying in Your Senior Years?

Finding love later in life may be unexpected and exciting. The considerations are much different for an older couple with adult children and retirement plans than for a young couple just starting out. Before deciding on next...more

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