In the grant 'to A for life, but if X occurs then to C', the grant creates which future interest?

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Multiple Choice

In the grant 'to A for life, but if X occurs then to C', the grant creates which future interest?

This is about how future interests arise when a grant is conditioned on a happening. Here, A holds a life estate: the present possessor is A, life tenants typically have their estate unless a condition shifts it. The phrase “but if X occurs then to C” creates an automatic divestment of A’s present estate in favor of another person, upon the condition X. Because the transfer to C happens on X and does not require action by the grantor, C takes through an executory process that shifts from A to C when X occurs. That makes C hold a shifting executory interest. It’s not a remainder, because C’s taking is not to follow the end of A’s life estate; it happens during the continuation (or possible interruption) of that estate if X happens. It’s also not a right of entry or a reversion for the grantor, since the grantor isn’t reserving a power to retake the property—there’s no retained future interest by the grantor to trigger a reentry. So the correct concept is a shifting executory interest in C, created by the condition that divests A’s life estate upon X.

This is about how future interests arise when a grant is conditioned on a happening. Here, A holds a life estate: the present possessor is A, life tenants typically have their estate unless a condition shifts it. The phrase “but if X occurs then to C” creates an automatic divestment of A’s present estate in favor of another person, upon the condition X. Because the transfer to C happens on X and does not require action by the grantor, C takes through an executory process that shifts from A to C when X occurs.

That makes C hold a shifting executory interest. It’s not a remainder, because C’s taking is not to follow the end of A’s life estate; it happens during the continuation (or possible interruption) of that estate if X happens. It’s also not a right of entry or a reversion for the grantor, since the grantor isn’t reserving a power to retake the property—there’s no retained future interest by the grantor to trigger a reentry.

So the correct concept is a shifting executory interest in C, created by the condition that divests A’s life estate upon X.

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