Question

Mrs. Smith held a life estate in a single-family residence. The estate was based upon her own life. She leased the residence to Mr. Jones for a five-year period, but died a few weeks after the lease began. The lease was:

A) Invalid on its face, because the holder of a life estate does not have the right to lease the property
B) Valid for the remaining term of the lease
C) Valid only during the life of the lessor
D) Valid only if Mr. Jones was unaware of the life estate when the lease was created

Answer 1

Mrs. Smith's lease to Mr. Jones is valid only during her life, as she held a life estate in the property. Upon her death, the lease is terminated and does not continue for the remaining term. The holder of a life estate does have the right to lease their interest, but it ends with their death.

Step-by-step explanation:

The main answer to whether Mrs. Smith's lease to Mr. Jones remains valid after her death is C) Valid only during the life of the lessor. A life estate is a legal arrangement where the person holding the life estate, called the life tenant, has the right to use the property during their life. Upon the death of the life tenant, the rights to the property, as per the terms of the life estate, often revert back to the original owner or move on to a remainderman. Since the lease was based upon Mrs. Smith's own life, her rights to lease the property existed only as long as she was alive.In real estate law, the holder of a life estate does have the right to lease the property, but any such lease is terminated upon the death of the life tenant unless otherwise stipulated in the life estate agreement. Because Mrs. Smith died a few weeks after the lease began, the lease would not remain valid for the remaining term. In addition, the validity of the lease is not contingent on Mr. Jones's awareness of the life estate when the lease was created.