Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/183

 Ch. 11. remainders of either kind, if they amount to a freehold, cannot be limited on an etate for years, or any other particular etate, les than a freehold. Thus if land be granted to A for ten years, with remainder in fee to the right heirs of B, this remainder is void : but if granted to A for life, with a like remainder, it is good. For, unles the freehold paes out of the grantor at the time when the remainder is created, uch freehold remainder is void: it cannot pas out of him, without veting omewhere; and in the cae of a contingent remainder it mut vet in the particular tenant, ele it can vet no where: unles therefore the etate of uch particular tenant be of a freehold nature, the freehold cannot vet in him, and conequently the remainder is void.

remainders may be defeated, by detroying or determining the particular etate upon which they depend, before the contingency happens whereby they become veted. Therefore when there is tenant for life, with divers remainders in contingency, he may, not only by his death, but by alienation, urrender, or other methods, detroy and determine his own life-etate, before any of thoe remainders vet; the conequence of which is that he utterly defeats them all. As, if there be tenant for life, with remainder to his eldet on unborn in tail, and the tenant for life, before any on is born, urrenders his life-etate, he by that means defeats the remainder in tail to his on: for his on not being in ee, when the particular etate determined, the remainder could not then vet; and, as it could not vet then, by the rules before laid down, it never can vet at all. In thee caes therefore it is neceary to have trutees appointed to preerve the contingent remainders; in whom there is veted an etate in remainder for the life of the tenant for life, to commence when his determines. If therefore his etate for life determines otherwie than by his death, their etate, for the reidue of his natural life, will then take effect, and become a particu- Rh