Life Estate Agreement
A contract in which an owner transfers property to another person in exchange for that person's lifetime obligation to provide the seller with housing, food, and care — a common arrangement for elderly owners without other means of support.
Сфера дії: Польща.
Визначення
The life estate agreement (umowa dożywocia) is governed by Article 908 and following of the Civil Code. Under it, the transferor (usually referred to as the dożywotnik) transfers ownership of real estate to the acquirer, who in return is obligated — unless the agreement states otherwise — to provide the transferor with housing, food, clothing, medical care, and a proper funeral, for the remainder of the transferor's life. Like any transfer of real estate ownership, the agreement must be executed as a notarial deed.
Unless the parties agree otherwise, the transferor's right to live in the property and receive support is automatically secured as a personal easement entered in Section III of the land and mortgage register, which binds the property even if the acquirer later sells it to someone else. This is what distinguishes a life estate agreement from a plain gift with an informal promise of care — the obligation is enforceable and runs with the property.
If the relationship between the parties breaks down to the point that continued cohabitation becomes intolerable, the court may, at either party's request, convert the in-kind support obligation into a lifetime annuity payment instead, though the transfer of ownership itself is not reversed by this.
Приклади
An elderly widow with no children transfers ownership of her house to a niece who agrees, under a notarial life estate agreement, to house and care for her for the rest of her life.
The niece's obligations — housing, meals, medical care — are recorded as a personal easement in Section III of the register, so a buyer of the house later would still be bound by them if the niece resold it.
After years of conflict, the aunt and niece can no longer live together, and a court converts the niece's in-kind support obligation into a fixed monthly cash payment instead.
Як це впливає на купівлю та продаж
A buyer looking at a property should always check Section III of the register for an entry recording a life estate obligation — a house that appears to be owned outright by the seller may still carry a binding lifetime support duty toward a third party, which a new owner inherits along with the property. For elderly owners, a life estate agreement offers a level of security an informal family arrangement doesn't, since the support obligation is legally enforceable rather than dependent on goodwill.
