What is one condition where royalties would not be owed to a life tenant?

The correct response indicates that royalties would not be owed to a life tenant if the wells were closed before the life estate was established. This situation arises because a life tenant's rights pertain to the production of oil, gas, or minerals during their lifetime. If the wells were closed prior to the life estate, the life tenant cannot benefit from any royalties since there would be no production to generate such income.

The nature of a life estate is that it grants rights to the life tenant for the duration of their life. Should the wells have been shut down before the life tenant was granted their rights, which means there is no active resource to produce royalties, they would not be entitled to payments in that situation.

Other circumstances, such as the life tenant having signed a lease, the drilling occurring outside the property, or wells having been owned by another party, do not directly impact the life tenant's entitlement to royalties under the condition of active production. Therefore, the closure of wells before the life estate is crucial to determining the entitlement to royalties.