Also known as: implied conditions of reverter · possibility of reverter
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A condition precedent limiting the duration of an estate granted that arises by implication from the purpose or nature of the conveyance rather than by express words of reservation. The condition creates a possibility of reverter in the grantor that becomes possessory upon occurrence of the limiting event.
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Ike Ingram conveyed a strip of land to Interlink Communications for railroad purposes. After the railroad ceased operations, Ike sought to reclaim the strip. The implied condition of reverter ripened into a present possessory estate because the grant carried an implied limitation tied to continued railroad use.
Ivan Ivanov held a fee simple conditional in a parcel that had been granted subject to an implied condition of reverter. Upon Ivan's death without the required issue, the land passed to the person entitled under the possibility of reverter rather than to collateral heirs.
Isabelle Inman held a fee tail estate subject to an implied condition of reverter. After Isabelle died, her surviving spouse asserted dower rights, but those rights remained subordinate to the possibility of reverter that restricted the original estate.
Israel Irving received a fee tail preserved for a single lifetime only, subject to an implied condition of reverter. Upon his death the surviving spouse sought curtesy, yet the claim yielded to the possibility of reverter that had restricted the deceased spouse's estate.
Idina Iverson held a fee simple conditional subject to an implied condition of reverter. A judgment creditor recorded a lien against the land, but the lien attached only to interests Idina could transfer and remained subordinate to the possibility of reverter.
India Inoue's predecessor granted a right of way to a railroad under a pre-1871 statute. When oil was discovered beneath the strip, the successor to the grantor asserted ownership of the minerals. The implied condition of reverter meant the railroad held only a limited fee that did not include subsurface rights.
An implied condition of reverter arises from the nature and purpose of the grant itself, such as a conveyance for railroad purposes, without any explicit words of condition. An express possibility of reverter requires language that creates a condition precedent in the deed.
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…granting rights of way accompanied by checkerboard land subsidies, conveyed to the railroads "a limited fee, made on an implied condition of reverter." See, e.g., Northern Pacific R. Co. v. Townsend , 190 U.S. 267, 271, 23 S. Ct. 671, 47 L. Ed. 1044 (1903). Great Northern relied on those cases to contend that it owned a "fee" interest…
…absolutely forbidden all such restraints. Thus the law has long allowed such indirect restraints as conveying a fee subject to a possibility of reverter
No. A possibility of reverter retained by the grantor or the grantor's successors is categorically exempt from the rule against perpetuities regardless of whether the condition is express or implied.
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Yes. Unlike a power of termination, a possibility of reverter is freely alienable by inter vivos conveyance because it is a reversionary interest subject only to a condition precedent.
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The interest passes according to the form of the original gift, typically to the person entitled under the possibility of reverter when no issue or alternative executory interest exists.
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Yes. Once the implied condition occurs the possibility of reverter ripens into a present possessory estate without any requirement of affirmative action by the holder.
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