Those who worked and studied with her will be unsurprised to hear that in her last days she was lecturing her bedside attendants on the
Rule Against Perpetuities, which she could still recite verbatim.
Typically, the purpose trust is located in a jurisdiction that has abolished the
rule against perpetuities and, importantly, has also abolished the rule against restraints on alienation.
This guide explains the
Rule against Perpetuities in property law, discussing why it is different from other rules studied in law school; its role in legal practice; its use in the Duke of Norfolk's Case; the classical common-law rule, including common applications, working through perpetuities problems, and advanced topics like charities, powers of appointment, class gifts, and saving clauses; modern reform of the common-law rule; and the future and policies of the rule, including its abolishment by some states to avoid taxes.
Learning the elements of a contract and when the
rule against perpetuities applies under a specific set of facts are the types of lessons that are at the crux of a law students class schedule.
This article begins with South Dakota's claim to fame, its 1983
Rule Against Perpetuities ("RAP") statute.
A full discussion of the state law variations on the common law
Rule Against Perpetuities is beyond the scope of this article, but the laws of states that have abolished the commonlaw
Rule Against Perpetuities may not allow for springing the Tax Trap.
Another legal obstacle for pet trusts is the
rule against perpetuities, which generally provides that an interest in property must vest, if at all, not later than 21 years after the death of someone alive when the interest was created (a measuring life).
To increase the number of problems, this edition deletes the correlation chart, the section on recent modifications to the
Rule Against Perpetuities and its 25 questions, the chapter on powers of appointment, and the appendix on the fee tail.
Most other states limit the duration of the trust through a legal concept known as the
rule against perpetuities. For example, a mast in New York must terminate after the death of the last eligible beneficiary who is alive at the time of the document's execution plus 21 years.
An appeal requiring analysis of the
Rule against Perpetuities, the worst nightmare for most Judges, was manna from heaven for Stewart.