InstructorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Brief Fact Summary. The Appellants, Henry Baker and others (Appellants), appeal a lower court decision authorizing the sale of the property of which they hold a future interest.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. The courts role in determining whether to allow the sale of land affected by a future interest, is to consider whether selling the land would prevent waste of the property and to consider whether a sale is necessary for the best interest of all the parties, including the life tenant and the contingent remaindermen.
The preferred right of the mother, however, must yield to the superior right of the State to deprive her of the care and custody of her child in the event the physical, mental and moral welfare of the child requires it.
View Full Point of LawIssue. What is the scope of the court’s power in ordering a judicial sale of land that is subject to a future interest?
Held. Reversed and Remanded. The proper factors in determining whether the sale of land by a life tenant is proper, is the prevention of waste of the property and to whether the sale is in the best interests of all the parties including the life tenant and the remaindermen.
Discussion. In determining the judicial ordering of the sale of a property that has both a life estate and future interests, courts should consider both the prevention of waste of the property and the best interests of all of the parties involved. The law of waste concept is designed to ensure that uses of the property maximize the properties value. The central idea of the law of waste is to ensure that the life tenant of the property does not unreasonably interfere with the expectations of the remaindermen.