Maddren v Bell

In *Maddren v Bell*, 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 before the court was 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 gift to the grandchildren of the testator's son, contingent on them attaining the age of 25, offended the rule against perpetuities. This involved assessing whether the interests of all potential beneficiaries in the class were certain to vest within the perpetuity period.

Gaudron and Hayne JJ held that the gift was void for remoteness. Their Honours applied the principle that a gift to a class will fail if any member of that class might, at the time of the testator's death, become entitled to an interest outside the perpetuity period. In this instance, the possibility that a grandchild might be born after the testator's death and not attain the age of 25 within 21 years of the death of the last surviving person in being at the testator's death meant the gift was too remote. The court reasoned that the age contingency of 25, when applied to a class that could include after-born grandchildren, created an unacceptable risk of the interest vesting outside the perpetuity period.

The High Court ordered that the appeal be dismissed, confirming that the gift to the grandchildren failed and the property passed to the residuary beneficiaries under the will.