Law Commons^™

Requiem For Pennsylvania's Rule Against Perpetuities?, Martha Jordan

Martha W. Jordan

The purpose of this article is not to debate the wisdom of repealing the rule against perpetuities but to highlight two arcane problems created by the repeal. Both of these problems derive from the interaction of the doctrine of relation back with powers of appointments. The doctrine of relation back deems the exercise of a special or a testamentary general power of appointment as the completion of an act begun by the donor when the power was created. Consequently, the perpetuities period for contingent interests created by the exercise of a special or a testamentary general power of appointment begins …