Trusts (and) Wills - Sterner v. Nelson: The Repugnancy Rule in the Construction of Wills

Abstract

INTRODUCTION|During the survey period the Nebraska Supreme Court, in Sterner v. Nelson, overruled previous Nebraska cases and adopted the repugnancy rule in the construction of wills. The repugnancy rule voids a testamentary devise conditioned on the first taker's failure to alienate. For example, assume A owns Blackacre in fee simple absolute. A then devises to B with full power of disposition, but if B fails to dispose of the property during his lifetime, that which remains upon B's death is to pass to C. Application of the repugnancy rule would result in B taking an indefeasible fee simple and C taking nothing...