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find that decedent made a transfer of the residence to Funny Hats
whereby she retained lifetime possession and enjoyment of the
residence pursuant to her express and implied understandings and
agreements with the donees. It seems to us plainly inferable
that decedent’s children meant for her to stay at the residence
until she died, unless, of course, they had to put her in an
assisted living facility or a nursing home.
The express understandings and agreements of retention are
memorialized in the lease agreements. These agreements gave
decedent the right to the same quiet enjoyment of the entire
residence that she had enjoyed before transferring the residence
to Funny Hats. The lease agreements stated specifically and
without reservation that the leased property was the address of
the residence, and they contained no relevant limitation on
decedent’s exclusive use of the leased property. The lease
agreements also stated, specifically and without reservation,
that decedent might “peaceably and quietly have, hold and enjoy”
the residence for the term of the lease and allowed decedent to
further her possession and enjoyment of the residence by
altering, decorating, changing, or adding to it. The lease
agreements even gave decedent the right to sublet all or part of
the residence, to assign the lease, or to permit any other person
to use the residence. While the presence of a lease may
sometimes lead to a finding of a lack of retention for purposes
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