Also known as an estate for life. In a real estate context, an interest in real property that terminates once a person expressly identified in a life estate agreement dies. Life estates are measured either by the life of the property recipient or by the life of some other person.

The owner of the life estate is known as a life tenant. When the life tenant dies, the real property in the life estate is usually transferred to the remainderman who is also typically named in the life estate agreement.