In a life estate with remainder to charity, who holds the property after the life tenant dies?

• A. The life tenant's heirs.
• B. The charity as remainderman.
• C. The state.
• D. The grantor.

Answer: (B)

With a life estate, the current owner has rights to use and enjoy the property during their life, but ownership does not pass to heirs after death. Instead, a remainder beneficiary is named to take full ownership when the life estate ends. If the remainder is set to a charity, that charity owns the property after the life tenant dies. The life tenant’s heirs don’t automatically get the property, since the future interest was given to the charity. The grantor or the state would only become involved if there were no valid remainder beneficiary or if the remainder failed for some reason, which isn’t the case here.