Termination of Life Estate?

A few years back my parents deeded their house to me. Shortly after, I created a 鈥淒eed of Conveyance鈥?stating that I the Grantor give my mother the grantee 鈥淟ife Estate鈥?with the remainder to the Grantor/Me. Now, here鈥檚 the issue. My Mother is terminally ill and may die very soon. I have no clue of the process that needs to be taken upon my mother鈥檚 death in order to seize the house. I have disgruntled family members who will do anything possible to see that I don鈥檛 get the house. I would assume that there鈥檚 nothing they can do because it is clearly stated in the deed of conveyance that the remainder/house fall back to me. So, can anyone help me with the steps that need to be taken upon my mother鈥檚 death? Also, my mother is no longer living in the house and I fear that the house is being neglected and I was wondering if I have any rights to enter the premises to ensure upkeep.

Lastly, all my mothers鈥?possessions are in the house and I know that if I don鈥檛 change the locks as soon as I can seize the property that my family will enter and take/destroy anything they can and say that that鈥檚 the state of the house when I received it. Please point me in the right direction.


In Response to - David B: I apologize for the confusion. I did not myself create the "Deed of Conveyance". It was drawn up by a family Lawyer. It is an official document filed at the court house.

First, you should get the advice of the attorney who prepared the documents on all of these matters. Don't trust advice you get for free from the internet about legal matters. A lawyer in your state needs to answer these questions, so feel free to assume that everything I say is absolutely incorrect.

That said, if the deed is properly prepared, you likely won't have to do anything to secure possession of the premises once she dies. If you own it, you can probably go in and change the locks and call the police on any trespassers. Assuming there is no problem with your ownership of the home, you can asemble her personal property and turn it over to the executor/executrix/administrator/adminst... of her estate upon the presentation of letters testementary or their equivalent. You will probably want to have someone with you at all times until her stuff is out of the house so that you are protected against claims that you took her personal property or otherwise damaged it.

I have no idea about inspection rights, but life tenants are generally responsible for waste and you might have a claim against her estate if waste exists. You have to file those with the executor rather quickly after death.

If you sell the house, you might have to get someone who is unrelated to sign an affidavit stating that she is dead. That affidavit would typically be filed in the register's office.

You're not going to like the answer, but your problem may be that you created the deed and conveyance documents. You should take the documents to a qualified real estate or trusts and estates lawyer in your jurisdiction, and have the attorney review them. Otherwise what you are likely to end up with is a mess that could result in your losing in litigation the rights you're trying to protect.