what is shellys law? how about the doctrine of worthier title... how about the rule against perpetuities?

Question

please explain in plain english and give examples... My text that explains it is extremely verbose

yes i am a law student... and i feel like my professor is making this much more confusing than it needs to be

my prof. is extremely picky on the details.... which makes it worse

so yes i need to know all three, even if not valid

Answer 1

Are you serious? Are you a law student?
If so, pick up a treatise, or ask your professor.
My property professor REFUSED to teach the RAP because he said it was just too confusing and not worth our time. I learned what I had to for the bar.

If not, don't worry about it. Shelly's case and dotrine of worthier title have pretty much been abolished. RAP is slowly being eroded away.


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Rule in Shelley's Case involves this transaction:
O conveys to A for life, then to A's HEIRS.

The rule says that this conveyance is improper... it is judicially modified to
O conveys to A in fee simple absolute.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_in_Shelley's_Case#Example

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Doctrine of Worthier Title is concerned with this:

O conveys to A for life, then to O's Heirs.

The Doctrine creates a judicial modification to:
O conveys to A for life. (O's Heirs automatically get the vested remainder at the expiration of the life estate).

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Rule Against Perpetuities is much more convoluted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_against_perpetuities

Answer 2

From memory (Property I was a while ago) -- "No interest may vest, if at all, more than 21 years from some life in being at the time of the conveyance" -- basically, it's to prevent un-vested (contingent, dangling) interests from hanging around forever -- the limit was set to that it applied while anyone now was alive, plus until a child born reached majority.

The simple way to check is to go through each interest assigned -- if that interest will either vest or fail -- because the facts will be known -- within the 21-years-after-death period, then it is valid -- anything still unknown is void.

The other two are simply rules for substitution -- where the assignment says one thing, substitute a different transfer.

Shelly’s Case – where “life estate to X, remainder to X’s heirs” → X has fee simple

Worthier Title – where “to X, then heirs of O” → becomes “life estate in X, then Reversion in O”