Warren v. Albrecht
Appellate Court of Illinois
571 N.E.2d 1179 (1991)
- Written by Eric Cervone, LLM
Facts
James McGaughey died in 1943. In his will, McGaughey left John Warren (plaintiff) a life estate in a piece of property. Then, at Warren’s death, the property would go to Warren’s “then living child or children, or survivors thereof, and in the event there be no descendants of said child or children, then to his sisters” or their children, depending who was alive. If neither the sisters nor the sisters’ descendants were alive at the time of Warren’s death, then the property would go to McGaughey’s legal heirs. In 1988, Warren sued to quiet title. At that time, Warren and his two sons were all still alive. Warren’s two sisters (defendants) were also still alive. Warren claimed that the phrase “and in the event there be no descendants of said child or children, then to his sisters” violated the rule against perpetuities. Warren argued the phrase was a violation, because Warren’s sons could lose their interests in the property more than 21 years after Warren’s death if his sons died without any descendants. The lower court found the devise was valid. Warren appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Howerton, J.)
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