The information provided in this guide is not intended to amount to legal advice. Professional assistance may be required to determine the most appropriate action to protect your legal rights. Please read our Terms of Use on the Land Titles Registration policy and procedure guides web page. Landgate accepts no responsibility where parties print this guide and seek to rely on information that is out of date.
Note: Transfers, Survivorship and Transmission Applications are subject to the Verification of Identity Practice issued jointly by the Western Australian Registrar of Titles and Commissioner of Titles. Please refer to the VOI webpage.3
3Paragraph added 05/10/2022
1. Creation of Life Estates and Estates in Remainder
Estates for life and estates in remainder must be created by transfer.
In common law and statutory law, a life estate is the ownership of land for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms it is an estate in real property that ends at death when ownership of the property may revert to the original owner, or it may pass to another person.
Where the proprietor of any land desires to either create in himself or herself or, another, a life estate and an estate in fee simple in remainder in another or himself or herself the preferred method is that the required effect be accomplished in the one document.
An existing owner may elect to create a life interest. A transfer transferring an estate for life, or remarriage, to a person with an estate in remainder expectant upon the death or remarriage of that person to another, is registrable.
The appropriate panels of such transfers would show:
Estate: fee simple
Transferor: A
Consideration: as the case requires
Transferee: A of (address) an estate for life and B of (address) an estate in fee simple in remainder expectant upon the death of A;
or
Transferee: B of (address) an estate for life and A of (address) an estate in fee simple in remainder expectant upon the death of B.
An Estate for Life and Remainderman may also be created at the request of purchasers, one of whom is to be the life tenant and the other is to be the remainderman.
The appropriate panels of such a transfer would show:
Estate: fee simple
Transferor: A (Seller)
Consideration: as the case requires
Transferee: (1) B of (address) an estate for life and (2) C of (address) an estate in fee simple in remainder expectant upon the death of B.
Note: More than one person can hold a life tenancy. The life tenants may also hold that interest as Joint Tenants or hold equal/unequal shares.
It is possible to transfer an estate for life or an estate in fee simple in remainder.
The appropriate panels of such transfers would read:
Estate: an estate for the life of B; or fee simple in remainder expectant upon the death of A
Transferor: B or A
Consideration: as the case requires
Transferee: C of (address).
On registration of the transfer the title will show all the proprietors, and their various estates and tenancies.
Successive life estates may also be created, for example: a life estate to A and on A’s death, a life estate to B with an estate in fee simple in remainder expectant upon the death of the Survivor of A and B to C.
The registered proprietor may also transfer a life estate to one person to be held during the life of a second person (estate pur autre vie).
The appropriate panel of such a transfer would read:
Estate: an estate for the life of C
Transferor: A
Consideration: as the case requires
Transferee: B of (address).
2. Transfer by Life Tenants
The life tenant may transfer his or her interest to another person. However, as the interest being transferred is limited to the life of the life tenant, the interest of the purchaser or transferee is again an estate pur autre vie. On the death of the first life tenant the interest of the registered proprietor of the life estate ceases. In a transfer of this nature the appropriate panels should read:
Estate: an estate for life of A
Transferor: A
Consideration: as the case requires
Transferee: C of (address).
3. Transfer by Remainderman
The interest of a remainderman may be transferred without disturbing the interest of the life tenant. In a transfer of this nature the appropriate panels should read:
Estate: an estate in fee simple in remainder expectant upon the death of C
Transferor: A
Consideration: as the case requires
Transferee: B of (address).
4. On the Death of Joint Life Tenants
An Application by Survivorship may be lodged1. See DEC-02 Survivorship Applications.
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1[Guide updated to insert sentence on 17/10/2018] |
5. On the Death of a Life Tenant5
Where any person registered as proprietor of an estate for life dies, the person or persons registered as proprietors of the estate in remainder must apply to be registered as proprietors of the estate in fee simple in possession, i.e. the whole interest in the land. Although the interest of the life tenant in the land ceases immediately on death and the interest of the remainderman is immediately enlarged, the legal estate does not change until the required application is made and the Register amended.
The form to be used is a blank application Form and the application is made by the remainderman or remaindermen. The correct words to be used in the third section on the Form are:
“to be registered as the proprietor (or proprietors) of an estate in fee simple in possession, the life tenant (name) having died on (date of death).”
In support of the application the following should be supplied:
A certified copy of the certificate of death of the deceased life tenant as issued by the Registrar General or an office copy of a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.
and
A statutory declaration of the remainderman or one of them if more than one. This declaration should:
identify the declarant
identify the land being dealt with by reference to its volume and folio numbers in all cases, and where a mortgage, charge or lease of land is being dealt with, also by the number of that instrument
introduce the certified copy of the certificate of death or Grant of Probate produced as evidence of death
and
identify the deceased life tenant with the person shown on the evidence of death produced. Any differences of name, address or occupation must be explained.
5Updated 07/08/2023 to remove reference to duplicate certificate of title
6. On Death of the Remainderman
Where the person holding the Remainderman interest (ultimate owner) dies prior to the life interest holder, his or her Estate (Executor/Administrator) may lodged an Application by Personal Representative (Transmission Application).
The Life Estate will remain until a Transfer is lodged by the Life Tenant and the Where the person holding the Remainderman interest (ultimate owner) dies prior to the life interest holder, his or her Estate (Executor/Administrator).
7. On Death of the Life Tenant and the Remainderman
In those instances, where the person/s holding the Life Estate and the Remainderman are both deceased. The Executor/Administrator of the Remainderman may make Application pursuant to Death of a Life Tenant (see DEC-02 Survivorship Applications) accompanied by the standard Application by Personal Representative. (See DEC-03 Transmission Applications).
The Executor/Administrator can then sell or transfer the land to the beneficiaries, or as the case requires.
8. Transfer by Life Tenant and the Remainderman to a Stranger4
A person/s holding a Life Estate and the person/s holding the fee simple Remainderman may transfer the land to a stranger for a consideration. The effect of such a transfer will terminate the life estate.
In a transfer of this nature the appropriate panels should read:
- Estate: fee simple
- Transferor: A as life tenant and B as remainderman
- Consideration: monetary amount or as the case may be
- Transferee: C of (address).
4Section added 05/10/2022
9. Terminating/Merging a Life Estate / Remainderman4
Where the life tenant and the remainderman are one and the same person, they may seek to merge and abolish the life estate and estate in fee simple in remainderman.
Ideally this change should have been appropriately identified in the transfer that acquired the last interest. The Registrar of Titles will accept a transfer in the following format:
- Estate: fee simple
- Transferor: A as life tenant and A as remainderman
- Consideration: the desire of the life tenant and the remainderman seek to merge and extinguish and hold the whole of the land in fee simple
- Transferee: A of (address).
4Section added 05/10/2022