8 - Grants for life and for lives

Summary

Estates for life arose either by operation of law or by express grant. In the former class were the estates of widows, holding lands in dower, widowers, holding their deceased wives' realty by the curtesy of England, and widowers holding land which had been given to them with their late wives in marriage. In the case of widowers, conveyancing and livery of seisin were not required, for a husband, being seised of all his wife's realty by virtue of the marriage, would after her death simply hang on to such of it as he was entitled to hold. Expressly created tenancies for life of demesne land, known as leases or demises, required livery of seisin, and as in the case of grants in fee and in tail, could be made without charter. Assignments of dower, and other documents relating to widows' estates, are discussed in chapter 6. The motives for making leases for life were various. A man might wish to provide for a younger son or unmarried daughter without diminishing the inheritance which would fall to his heir. A life estate might be granted for a premium, in order to obtain a capital sum, or granted to a person in order to settle by compromise that person's claim to a larger estate, or to secure a release of other property. A lease for life might also be granted by a debtor as a way of paying off a debt.