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Simple English definitions for legal terms
antidestructibility statute
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A quick definition of antidestructibility statute:
An antidestructibility statute is a law that prevents a future interest in property from being destroyed if it does not vest by a certain time. In the past, if a future interest did not vest by the time it was supposed to, it would be lost and the property would go back to the original owner. However, now most places have laws that protect these interests from being destroyed. Some places still follow the old rule, but it is becoming less common.
A more thorough explanation:
An antidestructibility statute is a law that abolishes the common-law doctrine of destructibility of contingent remainders. This doctrine required a future interest to vest by the time it is to become possessory or else suffer total destruction, with the interest then reverting to the grantor. The doctrine could be avoided by the use of trustees to preserve contingent remainders.
For example, if a grantor gave land to A for life, then to B's children if B is married at the time of A's death, and if not, to C, the interest of B's children would be destroyed if B was not married at the time of A's death. However, if a trustee was appointed to hold the land for B's children until they were born, the interest would be preserved.
The destructibility rule has been abolished in most American jurisdictions, and the abolishing statutes are commonly termed anti-destructibility statutes. However, the rule still exists in its old common-law form in Florida, and it may also exist unchanged in Arkansas, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee.