Illinois exam glossary
Life estate
Ana holds a life estate measured by her own life and sells that interest to Ben. Ben can acquire the interest, but his purchase does not restart its duration. Ana’s life still controls. That is the first question to answer in a life-estate problem: whose life measures the estate?
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The short answer
A life estate is a freehold estate whose duration is limited by a specified person’s life. In the basic present-possession example, the life tenant can use the property and ordinarily receive its income while respecting the future interest. A transfer does not restart the measuring life. At its end, possession follows the succeeding interests and their terms; an instrument can also provide an earlier ending event.
Reviewed October 26, 2026. PSI lists Life Estate ownership in National I.D.7. The whole Property Ownership domain has 10 scored national broker questions, not 10 on life estates. Basic examples below assume a valid present life estate without additional disposal powers or unmentioned early-ending conditions. The actual instrument, interests and applicable law can change the result.
Trace the estate before following the transaction
- Identify the measuring life. In to Ana for Ana’s life, Ana is both holder and measuring person. In to Ana for Blair’s life, Ana holds the estate but Blair’s life measures its duration. The second arrangement is pur autre vie, meaning for the life of another.
- Identify each estate and when it becomes possessory. A named third-party remainder differs from a reversion retained by the grantor. A future interest can exist now even though possession comes later. Read any survival condition, alternative taker or additional preceding estate instead of assuming every named person has the same vested interest.
- Trace what is actually transferred. Selling an ordinary life estate transfers its existing duration limit. A buyer, lessee or mortgage lender does not obtain the future-interest holder’s estate merely by dealing with the life tenant. Check valid additional powers, participation by other required holders and any applicable statutory or court authority before deciding a broader transaction.
- Separate current enjoyment from damage to the future estate. Possession and ordinary income do not mean unrestricted power to consume or destroy the property. Waste questions depend on the act or neglect, instrument, authority, property circumstances and governing law. A proposed increase in market value does not alone decide permission for a major alteration.
- Read the expense rule that actually applies. Ordinary recurring expenses and capital charges can be treated differently. Illinois’ nontrust-estate provision applies the Principal and Income Act as far as applicable, subject to agreements and other directions, and contains particular improvement and farm-rent rules. Do not charge every bill to the same holder or invent an automatic 50/50 division.
- Check the ending event and the next right. Death of the measuring person is different from death of a transferee, grantor or remainder holder. Valid earlier termination can raise a separate acceleration question. A future interest expressly requiring survival of a named person is not necessarily satisfied merely because the prior estate has ended.
| Valid basic grant or event | Present possession | What to follow |
|---|---|---|
| Olivia to Ana for Ana’s life, then Ben | Ana | Ana’s life; Ben’s remainder |
| Olivia to Ana for Blair’s life, then Ben | Ana | Blair’s life; Ben’s remainder |
| Olivia to Ana for Ana’s life only | Ana | Ana’s life; Olivia’s retained reversion |
| Ana transfers her ordinary own-life estate to Cam | Cam through the transfer | Ana remains the measuring person |
| A remainder holder dies before the life tenant | Life tenant remains in possession | The remainder’s actual vesting and survival terms |
| All required holders validly convey the complete fee | Buyer under the complete conveyance | Actual powers, interests, formalities and remaining encumbrances |
The distinctions that matter
| Distinction | How it works | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| Life estate and fee simple | A life estate has a life-based duration limit. Fee simple absolute is potentially perpetual. | An owner’s death does not mean every ownership estate ends. |
| Life tenant and measuring person | One holds the estate; the other supplies the measuring life. They can be the same person or different people. | Follow the grant’s measuring person after a transfer. |
| Own-life example and pur autre vie | The ordinary own-life example is measured by its original holder’s life. Pur autre vie is measured by another person’s life. | Identify who holds the estate and whose life measures it; a label alone is not enough. |
| Remainder and reversion | A remainder is given as a succeeding interest; a reversion is retained when a lesser estate is conveyed. | Classify the interest at creation, not by whether its holder is a relative. |
| Interest and possession | A vested remainder can be an existing property interest while possession is postponed. | Future possession does not necessarily mean no current interest. |
| Vested and contingent remainder | The actual terms determine whether an identified taker has a vested interest or whether identity or an uncertain condition remains. | A named taker and an express survival condition need separate analysis. |
| Successive and concurrent ownership | Life tenant and remainderman hold successive estates. Tenants in common have concurrent undivided possession rights. | Do not give present occupancy from a remainder alone. |
| Ended own-life estate and surviving other-life estate | An estate measured by its holder’s own life ends at that death. If another living person measures duration, the holder’s death need not end it. | Succession to a remaining interest is separate from its duration. |
| Deeded estate and trust benefit | A legal estate in land differs from a beneficiary’s rights under a trust administered by its trustee. | Receiving lifetime income does not by itself establish every power of a deeded life tenant. |
Work through the facts
A remainder exists before possession
Olivia validly conveys to Ana for Ana’s life, then to Ben in fee simple. Assume Ben’s remainder is vested without any survival condition or power of divestment.
- Ana has the present life estate.
- Ben already has the stipulated vested remainder, but not present possession.
Answer: Ana possesses during her estate; Ben’s right to possession follows its end.
The grantor retains the next estate
Olivia validly conveys only a present estate to Ana for Ana’s life and gives no succeeding interest to a third party.
- Olivia has conveyed a lesser estate.
- The retained future interest is a reversion.
Answer: Olivia retains the reversion; her own death would not end an estate measured by Ana’s life.
A sale does not restart the measuring life
Ana holds an ordinary estate for Ana’s life and validly transfers it to Cam without changing the underlying grant. Ana later dies while Cam remains alive.
- Cam received the life-estate interest with its existing duration.
- Ana remained the measuring person.
Answer: Cam’s transferred estate ends with Ana’s life, subject to the stated assumptions.
The holder dies before the measuring person
Olivia grants Ana a life estate for Blair’s life. Ana dies while Blair is alive, and no separate early-ending term applies.
- Ana and Blair have different roles.
- Ana’s death does not satisfy the stated measuring event.
Answer: The life-based duration continues while Blair lives; who succeeds to Ana’s remaining interest depends on the instrument and succession law.
A reserved life estate changes who possesses now
Olivia validly gives Ben the remainder in fee simple while reserving a present life estate measured by Olivia’s life. No additional terms alter those estates.
- Olivia retained current enjoyment for her life.
- Ben received the future remainder rather than current concurrent possession.
Answer: Olivia has the present life estate; Ben’s remainder does not alone entitle him to move in now.
A will cannot extend an expired estate
Ana’s only interest in a parcel is an ordinary estate measured by Ana’s life. The creating deed gives Ben the succeeding fee. Ana’s will purports to leave all her real estate to Cam.
- Ana’s limited estate ends at Ana’s death.
- The will does not supply a new interest in Ben’s separate estate.
Answer: The expired estate does not pass to Cam; the succeeding possession follows the original valid arrangement.
A long lease is not a longer estate
A life tenant grants a ten-year residential lease of the ordinary life-estate interest alone. The future holder does not participate, no additional disposal power exists, and no special law protects a longer term.
- The lease’s stated term and the lessor’s estate are different limits.
- The life tenant cannot supply the future holder’s estate under these stipulated facts.
Answer: The lease does not guarantee ten years of possession if the measuring life ends sooner. Actual possession and enforcement still require the governing law and process.
The Illinois farm rule has a defined scope
A qualifying year-to-year Illinois farmland tenancy is granted by the life tenant. Its current lease year ends February 28, 2027. The life tenant’s interest ends October 26, 2026, and lessor and lessee have not agreed otherwise in writing.
- Section 9-206.1(a) addresses this qualifying year-to-year farmland tenancy.
- It continues through the end of the current lease year despite the lessor’s life interest ending earlier.
Answer: The stated statutory continuation runs through February 28, 2027; this is not a rule extending every farm lease forever or an eviction instruction.
Neglect and alteration raise different questions
A life tenant knowingly leaves a repairable roof leak unaddressed until avoidable structural damage develops. Compare a proposal to replace the existing house with a larger building.
- The roof facts illustrate harmful neglect, commonly called permissive waste.
- The redevelopment proposal requires separate analysis of authority, the instrument and applicable waste law; higher predicted value alone does not settle it.
Answer: Classify the conduct first. Neither automatic forfeiture nor an automatic injunction is established by the label alone.
An optional improvement is not an automatic shared bill
A legal tenant incurs a charge for that tenant’s own benefit without the remainderman’s consent or agreement. Assume 760 ILCS 15/15(a) applies and no agreement or other direction changes its result.
- Section 15(a) expressly addresses a charge incurred for one holder’s own benefit without the other’s consent or agreement.
- It does not support forcing an automatic half-share onto the other holder.
Answer: Under those stipulated statutory facts, the person who incurred the charge pays it in full.
Ending the estate is different from surviving the person
Assume Ana validly releases a life estate while alive. A separate gift expressly requires Ben to survive Ana personally, and no other term or applicable rule changes that requirement.
- The preceding estate has ended, but Ana remains alive.
- The hypothetical expressly retains the separate requirement of surviving Ana as a person.
Answer: The release alone does not establish that Ben has survived Ana. The actual disposition and any acceleration still require the whole instrument and law.
Mistakes to avoid
- Calling a life tenant merely a renter. A life estate is a freehold interest; the word tenant does not by itself mean a leasehold.
- Following the buyer’s lifetime after a transfer. The original measuring life remains unless a valid new arrangement changes the estates.
- Assuming death is the only possible ending event. Read valid conditions and other legal events that can end the estate earlier.
- Giving a remainder holder present possession automatically. A future interest and a present occupancy right are different.
- Making every remainder contingent merely because enjoyment is later. Read the actual identity, vesting and survival conditions.
- Making every named remainder indefeasibly vested. A named person can still face a stated uncertain condition or divestment.
- Assuming a life tenant can never have additional disposal powers. The instrument and applicable law can confer powers beyond the ordinary example.
- Applying the farm exception to every lease. Section 9-206.1(a) specifies qualifying year-to-year farmland tenancies and permits a written different arrangement.
- Treating every change as waste or every value increase as permission. Authority, future rights, circumstances and governing law matter.
- Dividing every property expense equally. Apply the actual instrument, agreements, statutory scope and type of charge.
- Inferring tax or benefits eligibility from a glossary label. Valuation, tax, benefits, creditors and estate planning require their own rules and facts.
Check your understanding
These are original teaching questions, not recalled or predicted PSI questions. Answer first, then explain why the other choices fail.
1. A valid basic deed grants Ana an estate for Ana’s life, then Ben the fee. Who has the present life estate?
- Ana
- Ben as present fee owner
- Olivia as present possessor because she was grantor
- Ana and Ben as concurrent tenants in common
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Ana
Ana holds present possession for the stated life. Ben has the succeeding interest under the deed, rather than concurrent possession from that interest alone.
2. The valid grant is to Ana for Blair’s life. Whose life measures the estate?
- The grantor’s
- Blair’s
- Ana’s transferee’s
- Ana’s
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Blair’s
The grant identifies Blair as the measuring person. Ana is the holder; the two roles differ.
3. Ana transfers an ordinary estate measured by Ana’s life to Cam. No valid change to the underlying estates occurs. What limits Cam’s duration?
- Cam’s own life automatically
- The grantor’s death regardless of the deed
- Ana’s original measuring life
- A new 30-year term
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Ana’s original measuring life
Cam receives the limited estate transferred. The purchase does not restart its duration.
4. Ana holds an estate for Blair’s life. Ana dies first while Blair lives, and no separate early-ending condition applies. What follows?
- Ana’s death does not itself end the life-based duration
- The estate automatically becomes fee simple
- The remainderman automatically gains possession from Ana’s death alone
- Blair must also be presumed dead
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Ana’s death does not itself end the life-based duration
The estate is measured by Blair’s life. Succession to the remaining interest requires the actual instrument and law.
5. An owner conveys only an ordinary estate for Ana’s life, giving no remainder to a third party. Which future interest is retained?
- Right of survivorship
- Reversion
- Remainder
- Present fee simple in Ana
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Reversion
The owner has conveyed a lesser estate and retained the succeeding interest. That interest is a reversion.
6. Olivia reserves a present estate for Olivia’s life while validly giving Ben the remainder. What does Ben’s remainder alone provide?
- Concurrent possession with Olivia
- Possession only if Olivia later signs a new deed
- A remainder that necessarily disappears if Ben dies first
- A future interest whose possession follows the prior estate under its terms
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. A future interest whose possession follows the prior estate under its terms
A remainder can exist now even though its right to possession comes later. The reserved present life estate remains with Olivia.
7. Which statement distinguishes a life estate from a leasehold in these basic examples?
- Every life tenant must pay monthly rent
- Every lease lasts for a person’s life
- The life estate is a freehold interest; a leasehold is nonfreehold
- A life estate is only personal property
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The life estate is a freehold interest; a leasehold is nonfreehold
The word tenant appears in both settings, but it does not make the estates identical.
8. Assume Ben has an indefeasibly vested remainder after Ana’s life estate, with no survival condition. Ben dies before Ana. What is most accurate?
- The remainder does not disappear merely because Ben died first; succession must be determined
- The vested remainder necessarily returns to Ana
- Ana’s life estate becomes fee simple automatically
- Ben’s death automatically ends Ana’s estate
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The remainder does not disappear merely because Ben died first; succession must be determined
The question stipulates a vested interest without a survival condition. Its succession differs from whether Ana’s possessory estate has ended.
9. A remainder expressly requires Ben to survive Ana. What must be analyzed?
- The actual survival condition, not an assumption that every named taker is unconditionally vested
- Whether possession is postponed, making every gift automatically contingent
- Whether the grantor is related to Ben, controlling the classification
- Whether Ben is named, making every gift automatically vested
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The actual survival condition, not an assumption that every named taker is unconditionally vested
A named taker can face a condition precedent. Read the instrument’s actual terms and any alternative disposition.
10. An ordinary own-life estate ends at its holder’s death. Can the holder’s will pass that expired estate as though it were a continuing fee?
- No, the expired estate does not become a continuing fee through that will
- Yes, every freehold is inheritable after its duration ends
- Yes, a general devise defeats every remainder
- Yes, the will changes the original measuring life
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. No, the expired estate does not become a continuing fee through that will
The holder cannot devise a life estate that has already ended. Possession follows the valid succeeding estates and applicable terms.
11. A life tenant mortgages only the ordinary life-estate interest, without added authority or participation by the future holder. What estate is pledged?
- The limited interest actually held, rather than the future holder’s separate estate
- Every future estate because a mortgage concerns the parcel
- A fee that automatically continues for the full loan term
- The future estate alone because the lender is not a life tenant
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The limited interest actually held, rather than the future holder’s separate estate
Under the stated assumptions, the transaction does not encumber an independently held future estate merely because the life tenant signs.
12. All required present and future interest holders validly convey the complete fee, with no missing interests or formalities. What may the buyer acquire?
- No estate until the original measuring life ends
- Only a life estate despite every interest joining
- The complete fee covered by that conveyance, subject to other applicable encumbrances
- A new life estate measured by the buyer regardless of the deed
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The complete fee covered by that conveyance, subject to other applicable encumbrances
The question expressly provides a complete valid conveyance. This is different from the life tenant transferring the limited estate alone.
13. Under the stated conditions of 735 ILCS 5/9-206.1(a), a qualifying year-to-year farmland tenancy outlasts the lessor’s life interest. Unless otherwise provided in writing by lessor and lessee, how long does the statutory continuation last?
- A new full lease year beginning at death
- Every renewal term regardless of writing
- No continuation in any life-tenancy case
- Until the end of the current lease year in which the life interest ends
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Until the end of the current lease year in which the life interest ends
The provision states the current lease year, not every future year. It does not apply indiscriminately to all farmland leases.
14. Under the farm example’s stipulated terms, the current lease year ends February 28, 2027 and the life interest ends October 26, 2026. No different written arrangement applies. Which is the stated continuation endpoint?
- A new full year after the life interest ends
- December 31, 2026 regardless of the lease year
- October 26, 2026 regardless of the statutory conditions
- February 28, 2027
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. February 28, 2027
Apply the actual current lease-year ending date supplied in the question. Other lease, possession and procedural issues are not resolved by this example.
15. A life tenant allows a known repairable roof leak to produce avoidable structural damage. Which teaching category best describes the conduct?
- A transfer of the reversion through nonrepair
- Permissive waste through harmful neglect
- Ameliorative change solely because no demolition occurs
- Ordinary permitted enjoyment regardless of avoidable damage
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Permissive waste through harmful neglect
The illustration concerns failure to preserve. Whether a legal claim succeeds and what remedy applies require the instrument, duties, facts and governing law.
16. A major redevelopment is predicted to increase price. Does that alone settle whether the life tenant may make it?
- Yes, no future holder may object
- Only the listing price determines the legal result
- Yes, every projected value increase authorizes demolition
- No, authority, the instrument, future rights and applicable law still matter
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. No, authority, the instrument, future rights and applicable law still matter
Do not equate every change with waste or every economic increase with automatic permission. The governing rules and circumstances must be applied.
17. Under applicable 760 ILCS 15/15(a), a legal tenant incurs a charge for that tenant’s benefit without the remainderman’s consent or agreement. No other direction changes the statutory result. Who pays?
- Each holder automatically pays half
- No one, because the other holder did not consent
- The legal tenant who incurred the charge pays it in full
- The remainderman automatically, because the expense relates to the parcel
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The legal tenant who incurred the charge pays it in full
The question uses the statute’s particular own-benefit charge rule. It is not an allocation formula for every repair or improvement.
18. Which is the sound conclusion about expenses for a real life estate?
- Every charge is always split equally
- Every charge always goes to the life tenant
- Read the instrument, agreements, applicable law and nature of the charge
- Every capital improvement is automatically free
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Read the instrument, agreements, applicable law and nature of the charge
Illinois’ nontrust-estate provision has qualifications and specific rules. General teaching defaults do not settle every actual bill or valuation.
19. Olivia retains a reversion when she conveys only Ana’s life estate. Olivia later validly assigns that retained interest to Cam. What is Cam’s interest?
- A remainder solely because Cam is a new holder
- A new concurrent fee in present possession
- The assigned reversion
- Ana’s present life estate automatically
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The assigned reversion
Classify the interest from its creation. A valid assignment of the retained reversion changes its holder, rather than converting its origin into a newly given remainder.
20. Ana validly releases her life estate while alive. A separate gift expressly requires Ben to survive Ana personally; no other term or rule changes that requirement. Does the release alone prove Ben satisfied it?
- No, ending the estate is not itself surviving the living person
- Yes, every remainder accelerates regardless of its terms
- Yes, release legally means Ana died
- Yes, every named remainder is unconditional
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. No, ending the estate is not itself surviving the living person
The stipulated condition requires survival of Ana personally. Distinguish termination of the prior estate from satisfaction of that separate condition; actual acceleration depends on the entire instrument and law.
Common questions
What is a life estate in plain English?
It is a freehold estate limited by a specified person’s life. In the basic current-possession example, the holder can enjoy the property during that estate while respecting the interests that follow. Read the instrument for any earlier ending event or additional power.
Who is the life tenant?
The holder of the life estate. In the basic possessory example, that person has present possession and ordinary enjoyment. The word tenant does not mean that the person merely rents under a lease.
What is a measuring life?
It is the person whose life determines the life-based duration. A holder can also be the measuring person, but need not be. A transfer of the existing estate does not by itself change whose life measures it.
What does pur autre vie mean?
For the life of another. If Ana holds for Blair’s life, Blair is the measuring person. Ana’s death before Blair does not itself end that duration; succession to Ana’s remaining interest depends on the actual instrument and law.
What is the difference between remainder and reversion?
A remainder is given as a succeeding interest. A reversion is retained by the grantor after conveying a lesser estate. Classify how the interest arose, rather than assume that every future holder who is not the original grantor necessarily owns a remainder.
Can a remainder exist before the life tenant dies?
Yes. A vested remainder can exist while possession is postponed. A contingent remainder presents an additional identity or uncertain-condition question. Do not assume all named gifts are vested, or that postponed possession alone makes every remainder contingent.
Can a life tenant sell or mortgage the property?
An ordinary life tenant can generally transfer or encumber the limited interest held. That transaction alone does not transfer an independently held future estate. A valid instrument can confer additional powers, and a complete transaction can involve other holders or appropriate legal authority. Do not treat the basic rule as a determination of every actual deed.
Can the life tenant grant a lease lasting beyond the measuring life?
The ordinary limited estate alone does not supply possession of the future holder’s estate beyond its duration. Check additional powers, valid participation, the actual lease and applicable law. Illinois’ qualifying year-to-year farmland statute provides a specific continuation rule; it is not a rule for every residential or agricultural lease.
What is the Illinois farmland-lease exception?
735 ILCS 5/9-206.1(a) provides that qualifying year-to-year farmland tenancies in which the lessor is the life tenant or the representative of the life tenant continue to the end of the current lease year in which the life interest ends, unless lessor and lessee otherwise provide in writing. The section defines farmland broadly, but its year-to-year condition still matters.
Subsection (b) separately addresses reasonable next-crop-year field-preparation costs when the lessor’s life tenancy ends not more than six months before the lessee’s tenancy ends and before the next crop year begins. It identifies the succeeding life tenant or remainderman as payer. That specific cost rule is not an automatic award of every claimed expense.
Can the life tenant leave the estate in a will?
An ordinary estate measured by that holder’s own life ends at the holder’s death, so the expired interest cannot be devised as a continuing fee. An estate measured by another living person can raise a different succession question. Follow the measuring life and the actual estates, rather than saying every life-estate interest always passes or never passes at a holder’s death.
What if the grantor dies before the life tenant?
The grantor’s death does not end an estate measured by someone else’s life. Any retained reversion remains a separate interest whose ownership follows valid transfers and succession law. The original grantor need not personally survive to take possession for the reversion to have existed.
What is waste in a life-estate question?
It concerns conduct or neglect that improperly harms the interests that follow. Voluntary waste concerns affirmative harmful acts; permissive waste concerns harmful neglect. Ameliorative-waste questions concern significant changes that can increase economic value while affecting other protected interests. These are general teaching categories, not a finding that every alteration is unlawful or that a value increase always authorizes it.
Who pays taxes, insurance, repairs and improvements?
Read the instrument, agreements and governing law. As far as applicable, Illinois’ Principal and Income Act extends to nontrust legal tenants and remaindermen through Section 15, with its qualifications. The Act distinguishes ordinary recurring expenses from principal or capital charges and supplies particular nontrust improvement rules. Neither a blanket life-tenant-pays-everything rule nor an automatic equal split is reliable.
Section 15(b) considers whether an improvement can reasonably be expected to outlast the legal tenancy and, where applicable, uses a specified present-value method. This page does not calculate an actual actuarial share or treat the statutory allocation as a tax or benefits valuation.
Are the life tenant and remainderman tenants in common?
Their life estate and remainder are successive estates, rather than the same concurrent undivided possessory estate. A remainder alone does not provide current occupancy during the preceding estate. A separate permission, agreement or other legal right can change the occupancy facts.
Is a lifetime trust beneficiary the same as a deeded life tenant?
Not automatically. Trust terms govern the beneficiary’s rights and the trustee’s powers; a legal life estate in land has its own title structure. A lifetime income interest does not by itself prove personal power to convey the trust’s real estate or qualification for every statute addressing a legal life tenant.
Does a life estate automatically avoid every tax, creditor or benefits issue?
No. The ownership description does not settle estate planning, tax basis, valuation, creditor rights, Medicaid or SSI eligibility, insurance or probate administration. Those questions need their own current rules and individual facts. The examples here teach ownership classification rather than recommend a particular planning arrangement.
Can a life estate end before the measuring person dies?
Yes. A valid instrument can provide an earlier terminating event, and an effective release or other legally sufficient event can raise a separate termination question. Whether a succeeding interest accelerates depends on the instrument and law. A condition expressly requiring survival of the named person is different from merely waiting for the previous estate to end. Do not assume that every remainder accelerates or that none can.
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Official sources and scope
Reviewed October 26, 2026 using the identified public outline, official general vocabulary, published Illinois decisions and current statutory provisions. The scholarly waste discussion supplies general categories and qualifications rather than binding Illinois law. Trust and farmland examples retain their scope. No actual deed, actuarial allocation, tax, benefits, title or possession dispute is determined.
- PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet: National I.D.7 life-estate ownership
- SSA POMS SI 01140.110: life-based duration and additional powers
- California DRE glossary: life estate, freehold, future interests and waste vocabulary
- Dempsey v. Dempsey, 342 Ill. App. 3d 969 (2003): remainder conditions
- In re Estate of Michalak (2010): vested interests and postponed enjoyment
- In re Marriage of Asta, 2016 IL App (2d) 150160: early termination and acceleration
- Sewell v. Sewell, 363 Ill. 166 (1936): protecting the inheritance from waste
- Righetti and Schremmer: original scholarly analysis of waste categories
- 760 ILCS 15/15: nontrust estates, charges and improvement allocation
- 760 ILCS 15/14: ordinary expenses and principal charges
- 735 ILCS 5/9-206.1: life-tenancy termination and farmland leases
This is exam preparation, not advice for a specific transaction. State law and the applicable facts control. Our editorial and corrections process explains how to report an issue.