As a 50% owner, if there is a person living ina home as a life tenant can I enter without permission or cause?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
As a 50% owner, if there is a person living ina home as a life tenant can I enter without permission or cause?
Asked on July 15, 2011 under Real Estate Law, New York
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
A life tenant has a possessory interest in a life estate which means they have the exclusive use and control over it; this ends only upon their death. Accordingly a life tenant has the right to do anything with the property that a full owner could do short of conveying any ownership interest in the property.
However with rights there are also responsibilities. A life tenant cannot commit, or allowed to be committed, "waste" of the life estate. This means that a life tenant is responsible for the payment of taxes, maintainence/repair, and generally not permitting any action/inaction would cause damage the property.
In addition to the life tenant there is also the "remainderman" (i.e. the person to whom the life estate goes upon the life tenant's death). If the remainderman is concerned about the condition of the life estate then they can go to court and ask that a judge compel the life tenant take action (or stop activity), which will cause waste to the asset. In extreme cases, a life tenancy can be terminated early.
That all having been said, a remainderman cannot simply enter onto the premises without permission (except in the event of an emergency). Again the proper way to address any concerns as to the maintenance /operation of the life estate is to go to court. Additionally, if the remainderman prefers not to seek a judical remedy (or their concern does not rise to the level of something that a court will act upon), they can try to negotiate a buy-out of the life estate from the life tenant.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.