Question

A transfer's property to B for life, and after his death to C and D, equally to be divided between them, or to the survivor of them. C dies during the lifetime of B. D survives B. At B's death

• A. The property passes to D
• B. The property reverts back to A's heirs
• C. The property is declared as having no owner
• D. None of the above

Hint:

In property law, pay close attention to words like "survivor," "if he attains the age of 18," or "upon his marriage." These phrases often indicate a contingent interest, where the vesting of the property depends on the fulfillment of a condition precedent.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The words or to the survivor of them are doing all the work in this transfer, they make C and D's shares conditional on being alive when B's life interest ends.

1. The property passes to D: since C dies before B and cannot satisfy the survivorship condition, while D outlives B and does satisfy it, D takes the whole property as the surviving beneficiary named in the transfer.
2. The property reverts back to A's heirs: a reversion would require the gift to C and D to fail entirely, but it doesn't fail, D is available to take under the survivorship clause.
3. The property is declared as having no owner: there's no gap in ownership here since a named taker, D, is ready and entitled to take under the terms of the transfer.
4. None of the above: unnecessary, since the survivorship clause directly resolves who takes.

The correct answer is The property passes to D.

Answer 2

A clear way to work through this transfer is to trace the timeline of who is alive at the exact moment the life interest ends, then test each proposed outcome against the transfer's own wording.

1. The property reverts back to A's heirs: a reversion happens only when the gift after the life estate fails entirely, meaning no eligible taker exists when B dies. Since D is alive and expressly named as an alternative taker, the survivor, the gift does not fail, so there is nothing to revert.
2. The property is declared as having no owner: the transfer itself anticipates the possibility of one of C or D predeceasing B by including the words or to the survivor of them, so a gap in ownership was never going to arise, the document itself supplies a fallback taker.
3. None of the above: this would only be right if none of the specific outcomes offered matched the correct legal result, but one of them does match exactly, so this option is not needed.
4. The property passes to D: because C's death during B's lifetime removes C from contention under the survivorship condition, and D is alive at the moment B's life interest determines, D is the person the transfer's own wording identifies as entitled to take the whole property.

Tracing the timeline confirms that the transfer's survivorship clause resolves the outcome cleanly in favour of one person. Therefore, the correct answer is The property passes to D.