Expert: Dick Dennis - 1/3/2009

Question
QUESTION: Dear Dick Dennis,
I read an article, http://en.allexperts.com/q/Buying-Selling-Home-1476/Life-Estate-1.htm, which stated "A life estate is only in existence as long as the person to whom the life estate was given is still living in that property. Since your mother no longer lives there, the life estate is no longer in existence.

To put in different words, someone wanted to make sure she would always have a place to live at no cost (in most cases). Some life estates require the owner (not the life estate beneficiary) to do EVERYTHING, including property maintenance, taxes, etc.

The life estate beneficiary cannot be evicted or asked to move without her/his permission. When he/she cannot control their own life or moves out and lives elsewhere, then the life estate is no longer in effect. A document to that effect, perhaps created by a real estate attorney, should be recorded against the title of the property.

That would make the title clean later when the property is sold. Go online and look up "life estate" and bring that definition to that "brilliant" person who asked you to market the life estate."

Dick, I think I have been looking for this answer for a long time. I live in Nevada. In 1994 I allowed my mother and father to put a mobile home in my back yard. I own the title to the property free and clear. My mother has since died and my father sued me over the home. I signed a life estate so he could always have a place to live. I'm the one who does everything, property maintenance, taxes, etc. He stayed in it for a while, less than two months, and now resides with a girl friend in another city. He can still live here but since it was empty for a couple of years I let a young couple stay in the mobile home. I told him he can move back in whenever he wants, just let me know and I'll have the people move out. He is now suing me again. I thought I was doing a good thing. The young couple are paying some rent, less than half of what they were paying in another location. This is really bugging my father. His attorney says he wanted it for a "summer cottage". The life estate I signed talks only about the mobile home and makes reference that I am the owner of the home and the property. The only thing it says is that he, my father, can live there as long as he lives.
Could it be that what you said about abandoning the residence voids the life estate? I am just getting tired of my father suing me all the time for whatever reasons.

Thanks for any response.
Lawrence

ANSWER: Only if the owner is willing to maintain the property, Lawrence. Otherwise it definitely is the responsibility of the beneficiary of the life estate to maintain the property. In the document that is recorded on the title alluding to the life estate it actually refers to the maintenance of the property by the beneficiary. So, yes, SOME life estates require the owner to maintain the property.

Go ahead and talk to an ESTATE attorney and verify what I have just said. You will find that should the beneficiary NOT maintain the property and in fact is in disrepair, it is grounds for cancelling the life estate. So, now do you see why it is unlikely that the owner would be responsible to maintain the property? If he/she failed to maintain the property, he/she could have the life estate severed. It is best that an estate attorney takes care of the necessary documents.

Your father has an aged screw loose somewhere. So does his attorney. Unfortunately, his actions are going to cost you in attorney fees to battle the bad information your father is receiving. Once he has moved out of the property his life estate is kaput! Period.

You have been very generous in allowing him to live there and I believe a judge will recognize this. You can now sell that property if you want and your father has nothing to say about it. I think it is about time that you stop being so generous to someone who is trying to take advantage of you. I wish you well.

Dick Dennis   dixiedee13@aol.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you very much for your response to my question. I did some research after writing you and discovered that the document I signed isn’t truly a “life estate”. I don’t believe it is anyway. It is an “AGEEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING” which states that my father can reside in the mobile home for his life. To give you an idea of what it says,

AGEEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING

The parties of the Agreement of Understanding are defined as follows:
        
1.    The Home owner is Lawrence Rodriguez.

2.    The individual who will obtain the Life Estate in the subject property is home owner’s father Andrew Rodriguez.

The parties to this agreement are expressly intending to give Andrew Rodriguez an Estate for Life in the mobile home located on the property at (identifies wrong address on the document).

1.     It is the further intent of the parties that Andrew Rodriguez be allowed to stay in the above-described mobile home as long as he shall live, and shall be required to pay no rent or incur any other charge(s) for his use of the property.   

2.     It is the further intent of the parties that Lawrence Rodriguez shall not obstruct, hinder, or otherwise interfere with Andrew Rodriguez peaceful enjoyment and use
with the above-described mobile home.

3.   It is the further intent of the parties that Andrew Rodriguez shall have no interest, other than the Estate for Life, in the above-described mobile home or the real property upon which the mobile home is located.

4.   It is the further intent of the parties that the Estate for Life be given to Andrew Rodriguez to avoid any litigation in this matter, and both parties expressly agree that all elements of consideration and/or other contractual requirements have been met.

Signed (no notary pubic)

That’s it. There was no altering of the property titles in regard to a Life Estate. We only have an Agreement of Understanding.
I am only asking another question of you because I live in a very small town and an Attorney here said he spoke with my father once and said it would be a conflict if interest if he helped me.
Do you still recommend I obtain another Attorney? My father is 84 years old and I agree he has an aged screw loose somewhere. I can’t understand why he is doing this unless he feels threatened by me renting the mobile home and if he is asked to leave his girlfriend’s he thinks he won’t have a place to live. I getting to the point where all I want to do is get rid of the mobile home and live in peace. I appreciate the advice you have given me and hope that this will end of my questions. Thank you Dick Dennis and God Bless You.

Lawrence

Answer
Again, I do wish you the best, Lawrence. Just one thing more: That "Estate for Life" is not a Life Estate. In fact, it is not even a contract of any kind. A contract is the meeting of the minds of at least two parties. If you are the only signator on that "agreement" it isn't worth the paper it is written on. It's not even as good as a common rental agreement.

A contract is between two parties and therefore there should have been two separate signatures to make that contract valid. That attorney who drew that up did it to pacify your father. My guess he did not charge him for it. And if that agreement was to be part of the title to the property, it must have been signed, notarized and recorded in the county recorder's office.

If it was me, I would go ahead and rent it out to anybody I so choose.

Dick Dennis