Annoyance is putting it mildly. Thanks for the replies though. I've spent countless time on this computer trying to look up actual facts regarding anything to do with life estates and the predicament we are in. It seems logical to me that there should be some course of action my sister and I could take should the wife default under the life estate agreement. Even though she is paying everything right now, and her "annoyances" are just that, annoyances...I do worry that she will eat through dad's life insurance because she refuses to work and then what? If she can't pay her mortgage, what recourses to we have then? Life estates sure are tricky in my opinion.