Cardozo Law Review
Abstract
This Article challenges the conventional wisdom that "deadhand" control by testators in certain situations is violative of public policy and should not be enforced. Specifically, it argues that many legacies conditioned on a beneficiary acting a certain way or doing a certain thing, such as not marrying or remarrying, should be enforced. This Article argues that the modern approach of disallowing conditions or restrictions on marital freedom in legacies is a product of a bygone era and that the reasons employed for invalidating such conditions are no longer sufficient justifications in the modern day for the current approach of courts. This conclusion is reached only after an examination of Roman, English, French, German, and especially American primary and secondary sources.
Disciplines
Estates and Trusts | First Amendment | Jurisprudence | Law | Law and Society
Recommended Citation
Ronald J. Scalise Jr.,
Public Policy and Antisocial Testators,
32
Cardozo L. Rev.
1315
(2011).
Available at:
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/clr/vol32/iss4/6
Included in
Estates and Trusts Commons, First Amendment Commons, Jurisprudence Commons, Law and Society Commons