What Is Considered an Abandonment of a Life Estate in New York State?
Life estates are recognized in New York, just as they are in other states. Life estates are governed by real property law in New York and are often left to surviving spouses. Oftentimes, a life estate is left to the surviving spouse of a second marriage; this ensures the surviving spouse has a place to live until death, at which point, the life estate passes to "remaindermen," who are typically children.
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Life Estate Overview
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Life estates are one of the oldest types of interests in real property. An individual granted a life estate has the right to occupy property until death. The person who grants a life estate is called the grantor; usually, life estates revert back to the grantor upon the grantee's death. However, life estates can also be granted to one person, and then on their death, to remaindermen. If a grantor wanted to create this type of life estate, she could create it by stating, "A life estate to my husband Clifford, with remainder to my daughter Louise."
Responsibilities
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The grantee and possessor of a life estate is expected to take care of the property, particularly when the remainder is being left to someone else. For example, if the grantor of a life estate left a house to her husband, with remainder to her children, the husband is respnsible for taking care of it. If he doesn't, the children can attempt to recover by bringing a lawsuit for waste.
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Abandonment
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So long as a possessor of a life estate doesn't damage the property, he can do whatever he likes with it. Some case law recognizes the right of a life estate holder to rent the property to someone else. As such, there's typically no requirement that a possessor of a life estate occupy the property. However, if abandonment is such that the property becomes derelict, any remaindermen/heirs might be able to recover the property.
Other Considerations
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New York case law hasn't yet defined what abandonment of a life estate looks like. However, New York does recognize the doctrine of waste and a life estate holder's responsibility to care for the property when it's destined to pass to remaindermen at death. So long as the property is being looked after, a lawsuit for waste or abandonment will likely be unsucessful.
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