My husband's father passed away and left some rental property to his wife (my husbands step- mother). The will gives her a life estate with interest and after her death it goes to my husband and his sister. She has not paid the property tax for 2 years and it will go up for tax sale on June 26th. She collects $1000.00 per month from this property. Is there anything my husband and his sister can do since his father wanted them to have it after her death? It states that in the will.

An action for waste may be brought when someone who lawfully has possession of real estate destroys it, misuses it, alters it, or neglects it so that the interest of a person having a future right of possession is prejudiced in some way or the land's value is diminished. The remedies in an action for waste may include an injunction to prevent further waste and monetary damages.

A life tenant is a lawful possessor of property during his or her life. A life tenant acts as an implied or quasi trustee for the subsequent beneficiary of the property, known as the remainderman. As such, the life tenant has certain duties and obligations to fulfill. The life tenant has the duty to pay real estate taxes assessed against the land during the life tenancy, protect the property from tax sales, and keep the property free from encumbrances. The failure to pay real estate taxes prejudices the future right of possession of the remainderman, and therefore may constitute waste.