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15. In an appropriate action to determine the rights of the parties, the court should decide
The owner of Profitacre executed an instrument in the proper form of a deed, purporting to convey Profitacre «to my brother for life, then to my nephew in fee simple.» The brother, who is the owner's brother and nephew's father, promptly began to manage Profitacre, which is valuable income-producing real estate. The brother collected all rents and paid all expenses, including real estate taxes. The nephew did not object, and this state of affairs continued for five years until 1987. In that year, the brother executed an instrument in the proper form of a deed, purporting to convey Profitacre to his girlfriend. The nephew, no admirer of the girlfriend, asserted his right to ownership of Profitacre. The girlfriend asserted her ownership and said that if the nephew had any rights he was obligated to pay real estate taxes, even though the brother had been kind enough to pay them in the past. Income from Profitacre is ample to cover expenses, including real estate taxes.
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A is incorrect. To the issue of ownership, the nephew incorrectly argues that the brother's life estate was forfeited by his conveyance to the girlfriend. As a life tenant, the brother has the right to keep the property for life, as well as the right to convey it to any person that he wishes to. Any conveyance he makes, however, is only good for as long as the measuring life, (the brother), is alive. As such, the brother's conveyance to the girlfriend was allowed.
B is incorrect. The girlfriend owns an estate for the length of the brother's life, not the length of her own life.
D is incorrect. As to the issue of taxes, the girlfriend incorrectly argues that the nephew is required to pay real estate taxes on the property. As a life tenant, the girlfriend has a duty not to commit voluntary or permissive waste relevant to the property during her life tenancy. A failure to keep the property in repair, to pay real estate taxes, or to pay interest on any mortgage on the property will all constitute permissive waste. It is the girlfriend's responsibility, not the nephew's, to pay the taxes.