In re Estate of Anderson
Supreme Court of Mississippi
541 So. 2d 423 (Miss. 1989)
Charles Anderson's will left specific bequests to his nephew Davis (plaintiff) and placed other assets into a trust funding his other nieces' and nephews' education for 25 years, after which the trust assets would pass to Davis (or the heirs of his body if he predeceased that point); Anderson had 15 nieces and nephews at death, with two more born afterward. Davis argued the trust's 25-year duration and lack of a definite starting point violated the Rule Against Perpetuities, seeking either to void the education trust or reduce its duration to 21 years and make his remainder interest freely transferable by will; the chancery court found the trust valid for its full term, ruled Davis's remainder interest transferable but subject to passing to his bodily heirs if he died first, and Davis appealed on three Rule Against Perpetuities grounds.
Whether a trust's educational-benefit interests (contingent on nieces and nephews meeting educational guidelines) and remainder interest (contingent on surviving to a certain point) violate the Rule Against Perpetuities when, at the time of the court's decision, the relevant beneficiaries have already survived long enough that the interests are guaranteed to vest or fail within the rule's permitted period.