Editing Fee simple (section)

==Life estate==
Many jurisdictions retain the possibility of creating a [[life estate]], although this is uncommon. In the United States, life estates are most commonly used either to grant someone use of the property for the remainder of that person's life in a will, or by a grantor to reserve the right to continue using the property for the remainder of the grantor's life after it is sold. The right to ownership of the property after the death of the life estate owner is called the ''remainder estate''. In England and Wales fee simple is the only freehold estate that remains; a life estate can only be created in [[Equity (law)|equity]] and is not a right in property.
===Retained life estate gift===
In the United States, retained life estates are often used by donors who intend to leave property as [[bequest]]s to [[charitable organization]]s while retaining the use of the property during their lifetimes.  The donor receives a [[tax deduction]] for the gift of their remainder interest in the property, and at the donor's death, the property passes to the organization without being subject to [[probate]]. Retained life estate gifts often involve agreements about acceptable uses of the property, payment of real estate taxes, property maintenance, etc. during the donor's lifetime.