Daily AncestorLife estate
A life estate is a right to use land only for someone's lifetime; at that person's death the land passes to whoever the deed or will names next.
A life estate lets a person hold and use land for life, but not leave it by will. When that person dies, the land passes to the remainderman named in the deed or will.
Wills often gave a widow a life estate in the home farm, with the land then going to the children. That explains deeds made years later, after the widow's death.
As seen in a recordDevise in a will
to my wife Mary during her natural life, and after her death to my son Wm.
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Life estate." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/life-estate. Last checked 2026-10-01.