Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Rules of Perpertuity

You are referring to the "Rule Against Perpetuities" which is considered by many law students, professors, and attorneys to be THE single most difficult to grasp rule in all of law.

The Rule is usually stated as follows:

"No interest in property is good unless it must vest, if ever, not later than 21 years, plus the period of gestation, after some life or lives in being at the time of its creation."

The Rule prevents the granting of an interest in real estate to some far-future descendant, as well as other things. The Rule once had draconian consequences for poorly-drafted conveyances, wills and trusts. It has been modified by statute in California. See Probate Code sections 21200-21231.

Without seeing the entire document in question I can't be sure whether it offends the Rule Against Perpetuities or not. However, my offhand impression is that it doesn't.....an agreement to utilize a particular agent's services is not a grant of an estate subject to future vesting, and even if it were, the agent's death would be a terminating event, so that the lifetime-limit requirement of the Rule seems to be satisfied. This assumes the 'agent' here is a mortal human being and not a corporation.