How to Remove Someone From a Life Estate

How to remove someone from a life estate is a tricky question to answer because there are many factors to consider. It first helps to better understand life estates and how they exactly work.

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Introduction

Although it is not something everyone wants to address, estate planning is an important part of living. It helps you enjoy all that life has to offer to know that your estate and those you love will be cared for after you are gone.

A plan needs to be created to address all the assets you have, including homes, cars, cash, and so on. This could come in the form of a will, a trust, or a variety of other actions that can be included as part of your estate planning – including life estates. By being proactive, you are ensuring that you give your family the best opportunity to be able to continue living life without worry despite their grief.

Life estates are one common option that many choose to protect their property. But, they don’t come without a word of warning.

A Life Estate: Defined

If you love your home, then you have probably dreamed of passing it on to your kids or other family members when you pass away. It is special and full of memories. A life estate is a tool that involves protecting your physical property so that it lands in the right hands after your death.

We have all heard the nightmares about estates getting held up in probate. It can be a long, drawn-out process that is taxing on a grieving family and can take away any bit of personal privacy. As you plan for your future and take steps that will keep your assets – including your property – out of the probate court, you may want to consider a life estate.

Simply put, a life estate is a means of passing your property or home to another person when you die. It takes ownership from you and automatically passes ownership of the property on to the beneficiary. During life, you will have a special ownership arrangement with a person of your choosing. Yes, you are still going to be the owner of your property, but after death, however, ownership of the property gets transferred to the person listed on your life estate. This is all done with the simple filing of the death certificate.

Deciding to create a life estate means that you will have to have a new deed created. This deed will be titled a life estate deed and will include the names of all interested parties. By doing so, you are not giving up rights to your property or sharing ownership with someone else. You hold rights to the property until you die. Then, upon your death, the ownership is then transferred automatically to the beneficiary.

Specific terminology often used in life estate deeds should be noted: As the homeowner, you are the one who holds the life estate. You are called the life tenant. The other person listed on your deed – the one who will own the property upon your death – is referred to as the remaindermen/remainder beneficiary.

How a Life Estate Works

It is most common for a parent to want to establish a life estate with a child. So, let’s say that you decide that when you die, you’d like the ownership of your home to go to your son. To make sure this happens in an easy, unintrusive manner, you choose to use a life estate.

Since you are the homeowner, you are the life tenant, and your son will be the remaindermen/remainder beneficiary. Life will proceed as normal with you having rights to your property for the rest of your life. Sure, your son’s name would be reflected on the deed, but his rights will not kick in until your death.

Here is where things can become a bit tricky. While the life tenant (that is you) still has ownership of the property, any big changes that you try to make with the property will require the inclusion of your remaindermen/remainder beneficiary (your son). For instance, taking out a mortgage or selling the property would require the consent of everyone involved. If your remaindermen included all five of your children, then you would need the consent of all of them to proceed.

Oh, and one last thing – a life estate cannot be revoked without the remaindermen/remainder beneficiary’s consent. Consider this a warning.

How to Remove Someone from a Life Estate

Did that last line halt you in your tracks? Why would anyone want to create a life estate if it cannot be easily edited? As long as everyone listed on the deed agrees on the change, a change can easily be made. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

If you have created a life estate and are looking to remove someone from it, you cannot do so without consent from all parties – unless you have a clause or document known as a power of appointment. These powers may be written within the deed or attached to it. Having a power of appointment will give power to the life tenant to make changes to the life estate – removing someone if desired – without getting the consent of everyone else listed on the deed.

The Importance of Seeking Legal Guidance

Protect yourself with a power of appointment. More importantly, however, hire an attorney to have on your side. As an expert, this attorney will make sure that you have all your rights while and that your estate is carefully protected. From selecting your beneficiary to drawing up the deed and everything in between. It is important to note that if you have a life estate without a power of appointment, there may still be legal steps that can be taken. Seeking legal guidance can be crucial throughout the entire process.

Conclusion

Life changes so quickly sometimes which is why it is so important to make sure you have some power left when handling your estate planning. Life estates can be great tools for protecting your property and keeping it out of probate when you die, but you want to be able to make changes when life throws those curveballs.

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