Overreaching

Dandelion6

I'm having trouble getting my head around this. Can someone explain it to me in plain English? (ie the way you'd explain it to someone who isn't a law student and doesn't have more than the average layperson's knowledge of property and trust law!)

thanks

guerito

In a nutshell:

When property is tied up in a series of life estates, the person currently entitled to possession (under the instrument creating the series of life estates, ie not a lessee) can only deal with his own interest, eg he can't mortgage the entire estate because he is only entitled to a life estate.

Overreaching is where the Tenant for Life (the person mentioned above) is allowed, under the Settled Land Acts, to sell the entire estate. The money raised by the sale is called Capital Money, and takes the place of the estate itself.

Trustees are appointed over the Capital Money, and they monitor the tenant for life's use of it. He can keep and spend profits made from investing the Capital Money, but not the Capital Money itself. That remains shared beteen him and future generations.

It's a bit more detailed than that, but that's the gist of it.

Dandelion6

That's a brilliant explanation, thank you! It's totally clear to me now.