Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Normally, the Life Estate holder is responsible for paying the expenses. If your Mom's will and trust has some specific language about who is to pay for what, then that would be more controlling.

If he defaults, you could go to Court to terminate the life estate. If a tenant is on the property more than 1 year, then you have to give 90 days' notice before you even file an eviction action. So having a tenant on the property is potentially very bad for you.

Unless the document creating the life estate says otherwise, he is responsible for paying obligations when he encumbers the property AFTER the life estate is created with a mortgage. Note you have an independent title not affected by a foreclosure on that encumbrance if he defaults. BUT if he didn't encumber the property with the mortgage and only got the property with the mortgage then you're responsible for the principal and he pays only the interest. If he pays off the mortgage alone he is entitled to collect from the remainderman what he paid, as remainderman ultimately gets it.

A life estate is an estate in real property, defined by the duration of its enjoyment. (Civ. Code, � 761.) Life estates are estates of freehold. (Civ. Code, � 765.)

The owner of a life estate has the same rights as a fee simple. �The owner of a life estate may use the land in the same manner as the manner as the owner of a fee simple, except that he must do no act to the injury of the inheritance.� (Civ. Code, � 818.)

With respect to existing encumbrances, both the remainderman and the life tenant must pay the existing encumbrance, and may seek reimbursement on each other. (Boggs v. Boggs (1944) 63 Cal.App.2d 576, 583-585.)

If the life tenant creates the encumbrance after creation of the life estate, the life tenant is obligated to pay. (Pryor v. Winter (1905) 147 Cal. 554, 559.)

A life tenant, may lease or otherwise dispose of his interest, but cannot create an estate that will extend beyond the duration of his life estate, which is his own life, unless he has been given power to that effect. Thus a life tenant may lease his interest to others, but that will terminate when the life tenant dies.