the spouse owns the property in a marital life estate.
the spouse owns the property in a marital life estate.
who owns the property in a marital life estate?
spouse
the provision also protects a spouse in several ways. first, it restrains the homeowner from conveying the property without the approval of their spouse, even if the property is entirely in the name of one spouse, or was purchased entirely from funds of one spouse. the provision also prohibits a spouse from devising the property by will, if the homeowner is survived by a spouse or a minor child. if such a devise is made, it is deemed invalid, and the surviving spouse will enjoy a life estate with the remainder to the decedent's children. the surviving spouse may elect to take a 50% interest in lieu of the life estate as long as the election is made within six months of when the homeowner died. the election, in the form of a prescribed form, is recorded in the official record book of the county where the property lies, not with the probate court. if this election is made, the remaining 50% is inherited by the decedent's children. a spouse may waive these rights in writing with respect to the will, but a minor child is not competent to do so. finally, the homestead exemption for property taxes automatically attaches to the surviving spouse, so the property will never be exposed to the creditors of either spouse because of the death of the other.
homestead exemption in florida
a land owner of an estate cannot give a "greater interest" in the estate than he or she owns. that is, a life estate owner cannot give complete and indefinite ownership (fee simple) to another person because the life tenant's ownership in the property ends when the person who is the measuring life dies. for instance, if ashley conveyed to bob for the life of bob, and bob conveys a life estate to another person, charlie, for charlie's life [an embedded life estate], then charlie's life estate interest would last only until charlie or bob dies. charlie's life interest or "pur autre vie" interest (interest for the life of another, whichever has applied) and most often the remaining rights of ownership in the property (the 'reversionary interest') devolve to the persons under the terms of the will/rules of intestacy/declaration of trust/trust deed (uk) or will/rules of intestacy/'grant or deed of life interest' (or similar) (u.s.) in remainder or revert to the original grantee, depending on terms of ashley. such a life estate in the u.s. can also be conveyed for the life of the grantor, such as "a conveys x to b until a dies" and in the uk by trust transferring upon trust or assigning rather than conveying x.
life estate