The law has long refused to let people tie up property indefinitely, controlling how far into the future an interest can be left to vest. For a solicitor drafting trusts or advising on existing ones, this matters enormously: a future or contingent interest that might vest too late can be void, sometimes taking other gifts down with it. Knowing the rules lets you draft dispositions that hold up and identify the ones that don't.
This lesson builds your understanding step by step, from the core rule to its modern form and the related limit on locking up trust capital.
- Overview and the Rule Against Remoteness of Vesting — what the perpetuity rules are for, what happens when they are breached, and the central rule on when interests must vest.
- Which Regime Applies — the three possible regimes and how the date a disposition took effect decides which one governs.
- The Common Law and 1964 Act — the original life-in-being-plus-21-years period and the wait-and-see reform that softened it.
- The 2009 Act — the single fixed 125-year period and mandatory wait-and-see.
- Class Gifts and the Effect of a Void Interest — the harsh 'all or nothing' rule, class closing, and what survives when an interest fails.
- Rule Against Inalienability — the separate common law limit on tying up capital in non-charitable purpose trusts.