Johnson v Phelan and Anor

In *Johnson v Phelan and Anor*, the High Court of Australia considered a dispute concerning the interpretation of a will and the application of the rule against perpetuities. The primary issue revolved around whether a gift to a class of beneficiaries was void for remoteness, thereby failing and passing to the residuary beneficiaries.

The court was required to determine whether the contingent gift to the grandchildren of the testator's son, contingent upon their attaining the age of 25, offended the rule against perpetuities. This involved an analysis of whether the vesting of the gift could potentially occur outside the perpetuity period, rendering the gift void from its inception.

The High Court held that the gift was void for remoteness. Applying established principles of the rule against perpetuities, the court reasoned that it was possible for a grandchild to be born after the perpetuity period had commenced, and for that grandchild to reach the age of 25 after the perpetuity period had ended. Consequently, the gift to the grandchildren failed. The court ordered that the residuary beneficiaries were entitled to the property subject to the void gift.