Keppitipola vs Bandaranayake – clr volume 2 page 173

In the case between the administrator of the estate of the deceased Loku Menika (Plaintiff) and Bandaranayake (Defendant), the court addressed the proper construction of a deed of gift which granted a life estate as dowry, specifically considering whether such an interest extended beyond the donee’s death in the absence of issue. The court held that the deed conferred only a life interest in portions of the property to each donee, with no surviving transferable interest upon death, and that the administrator had no standing to claim any part of the property after the donee’s death. The principle reaffirmed is that a life estate terminates with the life of the grantee, and any administrator or heir obtains no right or locus standi absent explicit provision to the contrary. This decision rel