life interest

American

noun

interest on property that is payable during the owner's lifetime but cannot be passed on to another or others after the owner's death.

life interest British

noun

interest (esp from property) that is payable to a person during his life but ceases with his death

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mr Farquhar had changed his will, naming Field as the main beneficiary and giving him a life interest in his house as well as half share in the property with Mr Farquhar's brother Ian.

From BBC • Aug. 21, 2023

Mr Farquhar changed his will, naming Field as the main beneficiary and giving him a life interest in his house.

From BBC • Jul. 19, 2023

When he abdicated, Edward demanded his brother buy him out of his life interest in the Balmoral and Sandringham estate for a tidy sum.

From The Guardian • Jan. 9, 2020

Before his death, Mr Farquhar had changed his will, giving Field a life interest in his house.

From BBC • Aug. 9, 2019

He married when he was twenty-two, and the marriage-deed gave him only a life interest in the estate, and settled the property on his children.

From Crying for the Light, Vol. 3 [of 3] or Fifty Years Ago by Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023