In Re Estate of Hewitt

I join the opinion issued by the majority today. However, I am constrained to write separately to emphasize that once it is determined that there is a vested life estate, a court cannot preclude the possessor of the life estate from receiving the proceeds from the sale of such estate.

A life estate arises when a conveyance or will expressly limits the duration of the created estate in terms of the life or lives of one or more persons, or when the will or instrument creating the interest, viewed as a whole, manifests the intent of the transferor to create an estate measured by the life or lives…