If a life tenant transfers the life estate, the transferee holds a life estate pur autre vie. True or false?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only if transfer is by deed
• D. Only with consent

Answer: (A)

The key idea is how a life estate transfers. A life tenant can transfer the interest they hold, and the recipient takes the same kind of estate. That means the duration stays tied to the original measuring life—the life of the transferor. So the transferee’s interest ends when the original life tenant dies, not when the transferee dies. That makes the transferee’s interest a life estate pur autre vie, because its duration is measured by someone else’s life.

Example: O grants to A for life. A transfers to B for life. B’s interest lasts for A’s life; when A dies, B’s interest ends. Here B has a life estate pur autre vie (for the life of A).