Life Estate Laws in Wisconsin
Wisconsin law defines a life estate as a claim or interest a person has in a homestead or other property, the duration of the interest being limited to the life of the party holding it with that party being entitled to the use of the property, including the income from the property in her lifetime. If you have been granted a life estate in Wisconsin, you should know the laws that go along with it.
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Possessing a Life Estate
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A person who owns a life estate in Wisconsin has the right to possess some parcel of property for the life of some person. Usually, a person is granted a life estate for the duration of his life. A person may also receive a life estate for the duration of another person's life. The person who possesses the life estate is known as the life tenant. The life estate ends when the measuring life ends.
End of a Life Estate
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A person who possesses a life estate for the duration of her life cannot leave the property to anyone in her will. After the measuring life ends, the right to possess the property also ends. The property does not become a part of the life tenant's estate. Either a reversion interest or a remainder interest follows a life estate in Wisconsin.
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Reversion or Remainder
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When a person grants a life estate to another person, the first person has a reversion interest. A person who grants a life estate reserves the right to possess and use the property at the end of the measuring life. While the person whose life the life estate is measured by is still alive, that person has the exclusive right to possess and use the property. When a person grants a life estate to one person and grants another interest in a second person upon the ending of the life estate, that person has created a remainder interest in the second person.
Duty to Not Commit Waste
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By law, a person who holds a reversionary interest or a remainder interest has the right to receive the property in essentially the same condition that the life tenant found it upon taking possession. Therefore, any person who owns a life estate in Wisconsin owes a duty to the reversion or remainder interest holder not to commit waste upon the property. A person commits waste by improving on the property in a way that the grantor did not intend; failing to fulfill legal duties, such as a paying taxes on the property and engaging in activities that diminish the value of the property.
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