Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Do you mean setting up a life estate where upon the death of the life tenant the property passes automatically to another individual or entity? If so, if the remainderman dies before teh life tenant, upon death of the life tenant the property passes to the heirs of the remainderman. be careful, however, that permanent tiltle will vest in 99 years plus a life in being at the time the estate is set up or it will be void under the Rules Against Perpetuties.

It probably should be addressed in the language of the deed just to be clear, as in "to X, if she survives me." You can then have a will as a backup, in case the transferee does die before your death and you haven't changed the deed to reflect a new beneficiary.