Class Gifts, Anti-Lapse, and the Rule Against Perpetuities in a Massachusetts Trust
Margaret, a Massachusetts resident, executed a will in 2010. She died in 2024. The will provides: 'I give the residue of my estate to my trustee, to pay the income to my son, Alan, for life, and on Alan's death, to distribute the principal to Alan's children who survive him, in equal shares; if none, to my daughter, Beth.' Alan has two children: Carl (born 1995) and Deirdre (born 2000). Deirdre died in 2022, leaving a son, Evan. Alan died in 2025. Carl survives Alan. Beth is alive. The estate is worth $1.2 million. Margaret's will also says: 'I intentionally make no provision for my son, Alan's, spouse.'
1. Who takes the trust principal on Alan's death?
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Carl takes the entire principal. The trust gives Alan a life estate and then distributes principal to 'Alan's children who survive him, in equal shares.' The class is defined by survival of Alan. Carl survived Alan; Deirdre did not. Deirdre's son Evan is not a member of the class because the gift is to Alan's children, not to Alan's issue or descendants. There is no per stirpes language that would substitute Evan for Deirdre. The Massachusetts anti-lapse statute, G.L. c. 191, § 22, does not apply. Anti-lapse applies when a beneficiary who is a child or other kindred of the testator predeceases the testator and leaves issue. Deirdre survived Margaret, the testator; she died after Margaret but before Alan. She was not a beneficiary who predeceased the testator, and the gift was contingent on surviving Alan. Beth's alternative gift does not take effect because Alan has a surviving child. Carl therefore takes all.
2. Does the Rule Against Perpetuities invalidate the trust?
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The trust does not violate the Rule Against Perpetuities. At Margaret's death in 2024, the interests were: Alan's life estate; the remainder to Alan's children who survive him; and Beth's executory interest if none survive. Alan was a life in being at the creation of the trust. The remainder to Alan's children had to vest or fail at Alan's death. Because Alan's death would necessarily occur within his own life, the interest could not vest beyond the perpetuities period (lives in being plus 21 years). The class closed at Alan's death in 2025, and Carl's interest vested then. Massachusetts has also adopted the Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities, G.L. c. 184A, which provides a 90-year wait-and-see period; actual vesting in 2025 is well within that period. The trust is valid.