Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Connecticut

Re: Defination of Life Use of Estate

I'm not exactly sure what the question is, but here goes. Joe is the holder of a life use in 123 Main Street, Hartford. Pete is the remainderman, that is, Pete is the owner of the property, but while Joe's alive Joe gets to use it and Pete can't interfere. When Joe gives up his life use (usually by death, but he could also deed it or sell it to Pete), then Pete gets the property free of the life use. Now Joe may or may not be able to sell his life use, depending on how he got it. He can probably lease it, and mortgage it, but at best he can trade only the life use itself; he can't affect the remainder interest (in other words, he can't, for example, lease the property for twenty years, he could lease it only for so long as he lives, which might be less than 20 years). Once Joe dies, his interest in the property ceases, and it reverts to Pete.