Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Disciplines

Law

Abstract

In 1983, South Dakota's Legislature confirmed that the Rule Against Perpetuities ("RAP") was neutralized: "The common-law rule against perpetuities is not in force in this state." The legislative pronouncement, essentially unnoticed at the time, proved to be the seed from which the state's trust industry grew. This article, the second of two installments, continues the life history of RAP in South Dakota. The first installment surveyed common law RAP and its obscure, labyrinthine, counter-intuitive mechanics. This installment picks up with a survey of pre-1983 caselaw and uncovers an interesting nugget-it appears that South Dakota never recognized RAP in the first place. South Dakota, it is contended here, has never subjected its citizens to the Rule Against Perpetuities, as an analysis of the state's decisional law largely confirms. Following the caselaw survey, the (arguably superfluous) legislative repeal is retold. The article concludes with a brief narrative of the success story of South Dakota trust companies in the years following 1983 and concludes with three appendices, one containing sample form provisions for the statutory dead hand restrictions that South Dakota retains-twin statutory rules addressing unreasonable and absolute restraints on alienation.

Publication Title

South Dakota Law Review

Volume

69

First Page

196

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