Except she gave up sole ownership of the property the day she agreed to give him the life estate, making her ownership tenants in common with her brother and a remainderman (beneficiary) at his death. It's the death thing that gives her the step up. If brother were kicked out due to violating the terms, which he did, before death, the life estate being terminated, my client would have the step up she got from Mom's DOD and not her brother's DOD ten years later.

This is what  her estate planning attorney told me. "In simple terms, a remainderman is the person who will inherit a property or asset upon the termination of a life estate. A life estate is a form of joint ownership that allows one person (the “life tenant”) to remain in a house until their death, when it passes on to the remainderman.The entire property is inherited because she gave aware the entire right to use it and enjoy its income. The step up is only triggered by death. 

We could both be wrong. After 54 years at this, I'm right less often than I used to be.

Denise