Summers v. Garland
Arkansas Supreme Court
98 S.W.3d 23 (2003)
William Garland's will created a trust letting Richard Garland (defendant) use its income until age 30, with the corpus passing to Donna Summers (plaintiff) and Ruby Jo Warren instead if Richard died or was convicted of a felony before turning 30. Richard pleaded guilty to a felony in 1993, before his 30th birthday, but years later, shortly after turning 30, successfully petitioned to have that felony charge dismissed and its records sealed based on his probation compliance. Summers and Garland both then demanded the trust property, the trustee filed an interpleader action, and the trial court held Summers couldn't use evidence of the now-dismissed conviction to show Garland violated the trust terms; Summers appealed.
Whether, when a grantor transfers alternative contingent remainders, the property vests in one grantee immediately upon the occurrence of the specified condition precedent, regardless of subsequent events.