Lives in being refers to individuals who are alive at the time that a piece of real property is conveyed. Under the common law rule against perpetuities, an interest created by the grant of an estate must vest no later than 21 years after the death of some person alive when the interest was created. The lives in being at the time of the conveyance can be used as the measuring life for the grant, even if they are not the recipient of the interest created by the grant.
Many states have statutorily implemented the rule against perpetuities and defined lives in being at the time of a conveyance. For example, New York’s Estates, Powers, and Trusts Law §9-1.1 states that “Every present or future estate shall be void in its creation which shall suspend the absolute power of alienation by any limitation or condition for a longer period than lives in being at the creation of the estate and a term of not more than twenty-one years. Lives in being shall include a child conceived before the creation of the estate but born thereafter. In no case shall the lives measuring the permissible period be so designated or so numerous as to make proof of their end unreasonably difficult.”
[Last updated in June of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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