Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: life estate

It may be that the Will specifically directs the life tenant (you) to pay all real estate taxes and general expenses of maintaining the property.

If the Will is silent, generally the life tenant will still be responsible for the payment of real estate taxes because the life tenant is getting the current benefit of the use of the property (typically the remainderman can't use the property until the life tenant dies or the property is sold), as a result, it would be unfair to charge the remainderman with the payment of taxes on a property that he has no current right to use and enjoy.

Re: life estate

You should review the last will and testament to see if a life estate is defined. Generally, the last will and testament will define the life estate to include or exclude expenses; please bear in mind that the defination of "life estate" is that it provides the right to an individual to reside in a dwelling, the issue becomes obviously: who bears the expense?

Notwithstanding the nature of the life estate (which does have any ascertainable monetary value), the property can either be sold (a) subject to the life estate or (b) terminating the life estate by having the life estate tenant joining in the sale of the property; however, if the life estate tenant joins in the conveyance he/she is usually compensated.

Re: life estate

You should check the document that created the life estate for guidance. The document usually specifies what obligations are to be imposed on the life tenant. If the document is silent, it is traditional for the life tenant to be responsible for all carrying charges and maintenance charges (taxes, insurance, repairs, etc., plus daily expenses like utilities). This is based on the fact that the remainderman would usually be entitled to charge rent to the life estate holder, sice the remainder interest is deferred until the death of the life tenant or vacancy of the property, and restricts the remainderman on what can happen with the property during the life estate. For example, the property, if sold by the remainderman, would itself be subject to the life estate, unless the life owner joins in the Deed. Since the document provides for allocation of the sale proceeds, you have a business decision to make: retain your life estate, but be responsible for all charges during your occupancy, or sell the property along with the remainderman and split the proceeds.