What are legal life estates, as established by state law?

Legal life estates, as established by state law, refer to non-possessory rights that are often associated with marriage and the distribution of property upon an individual's death. Specifically, dower rights and curtesy rights fall under this category.

Dower rights provide a surviving spouse with a life estate in a portion of the deceased spouse's property. This ensures that the surviving spouse has a claim to the property for their lifetime, irrespective of what the deceased's will states. Curtesy rights, on the other hand, grant a husband rights to a life estate in his deceased wife's property, provided they had children together. Both of these rights are designed to protect the financial security of a surviving spouse.

Understanding these legal life estates is crucial as they significantly affect estate planning, inheritance, and property rights following the death of a spouse. The emphasis is on the lifetime claim to the property rather than ownership outright, which differentiates them from other forms of ownership.