A life estate is best described as:

• A. A freehold estate that lasts for the life of a designated person.
• B. A leasehold with a fixed term.
• C. An ownership interest that automatically reverts to the grantor upon the life tenant’s death.
• D. An ownership that can be inherited by heirs of the life tenant.

Answer: (A)

A life estate is an ownership interest that lasts for the life of a designated person, making it a freehold estate rather than a leasehold. The life tenant can possess and use the property during the measuring life, but they cannot waste or diminish its value. When the designated person dies, the life estate ends. The property then passes to the future interest holder—either a remainderman named in the deed or, if no remainder was created, it reverts to the grantor. Heirs of the life tenant do not automatically inherit the property because the ownership ends at the measuring life.