Real Property MBE Tip of the Day

Answer to the Real Property MBE Question

Subject: Real Property

Legal Issue: Present and future interests

Legal Rule and Analysis: A life estate is measured by life, not by time.  The measuring life can be the holder of the life estate, or it could be a third person.  The language of the conveyance should indicate who the measuring life is.  The grant of a life estate does not give away the entire estate, and thus it has a corresponding future interest.  When the estate reverts to the grantor after the end of the measuring life, the grantor holds a reversion.  When the estate goes to a third person after the end of the measuring life, the third person holds a remainder.

The holder of a life estate can give away the estate. However, they can’t give away any more than what they have.  If the holder of a life estate explicitly conveys a new life estate, thereby introducing a new measuring life, the second life estate will be measured by both the new measuring life and the measuring life of the original life estate.  For example: “O to A for life.” A holds a life estate measured in A’s life and O holds a reversion.  Then say A says: “A to B for life.”  B now holds a life estate measured in both A’s and B’s life (since A only holds an estate for as long as A lives, that’s all A could give).  If A were to die, B’s life estate would terminate (since A’s life estate would terminate) and O’s reversion would kick in.

In this case, the woman conveys Blackacre to her daughter for life, and then to her daughter’s children.  This gives the daughter a life estate and any children a remainder.  A valid deed that has been delivered cannot be taken back just by ripping it up, it would need to be re-executed.  Thus, the woman’s actions had no effect.

The daughter then conveyed Blackacre (which she merely held a life estate in) to her neighbor for life, then to his children.  This life estate is measured in both the daughter’s and the neighbor’s life (as the daughter only had a life estate in her life to give), and the neighbor’s children would hold a remainder in life estate that would terminate when the daughter died.  We are told that the daughter dies before the neighbor.  Since the daughter’s life estate was measured in her life, that immediately ends her estate, which also ends the estate that was given to the neighbor and his children.  The remainder that the daughter’s children held would then kick in.

Conclusion: The daughter’s children hold Blackacre in fee simple.

Look at the answer choices provided. Choose an answer choice that matches your conclusion. Review the other answer choices provided. 

The answer choice (A) is therefore correct. (B) and (C) are incorrect because the neighbor’s life estate was measured in both the neighbor’s life and the daughter’s.  Once the daughter died, both the daughter’s and the neighbor’s life estates end and the remainder in the daughter’s children kicks in.  (D) is incorrect because the woman’s actions of ripping up the deed to the daughter would have no effect on its validity.  Further, there is no recording act that could save the subsequent conveyance to the cousin since the cousin is not a bona fide purchaser for value.

MBE Tip: Come up with a system that diagrams conveyances and allows you to label present and future interests when reading the fact pattern.  This question contained information about three different conveyances and created two different estates (since one of those conveyances was not valid).  As you read, you should be charting these conveyances, labeling the life estates, utilizing arrows to show where the future interests go, and labeling any terminating events or conditions.  Then when you see such an event or condition occur (such as the death of the daughter, who was a measuring life in the life estates of both the daughter and the neighbor), you can easily identify who now possesses the property.