Liferent (Scots law)
Encyclopedia
Liferent or Life-rent in Scots law
is the right to receive for life the benefits of a property or other asset, without the right to dispose of the property or asset. The definition was constructed from the sources.
Scots law
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...
is the right to receive for life the benefits of a property or other asset, without the right to dispose of the property or asset. The definition was constructed from the sources.
Examples
- If a man held a liferent on arable landArable landIn geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
with a houseHouseA house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, he could, for the rest of his life, live in the house and cultivate the land, keeping the income for himself. He could not transfer the land or house to another person. - A liferent might be set by law (as when someone died, it would apply to the surviving spouse); or it might be set as a private arrangement between individuals.