Life estate and restraint on alienation: a widow's interest was held transferable, with the later prohibition void.
An instrument granting a widow possession for life was construed as creating a life estate in property, not a merely personal right to enjoy profits. On that construction, the transfer was outside section 6(d) of the Transfer of Property Act because it involved a proprietary interest, and the widow could alienate her life interest. A later clause restraining alienation was ineffective, since a prohibition on transfer attached to a granted life estate is repugnant to the earlier estate and void under section 10. The appeal succeeded, the trial court's decree was restored, and the appellate dismissal was set aside.
Issues: Whether the grant made for maintenance created a life estate transferable by the widow or merely a personal right restricted to her own enjoyment within the meaning of section 6(d) of the Transfer of Property Act; and whether the restraint on alienation in the deed was effective.
Analysis: The determining factor is the true construction of the instrument. If the deed confers an interest in the property itself, the case falls outside section 6(d); if it gives only a personal right to enjoy the profits, transfer is barred. On the terms used in the document, the widow was put in possession for her life and the language did not show that the enjoyment was confined to her personally. The earlier clause creating the life interest could not be cut down by a later restraint against alienation, because a prohibition on transfer attached to a life estate is repugnant to the prior grant and is hit by section 10 of the Transfer of Property Act.
Conclusion: The grant created a life estate and not a mere personal right. The widow could transfer her life interest, and the subsequent restraint on alienation was ineffective.
Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, the trial court's decree was restored, and the dismissal by the appellate court was set aside.
Ratio Decidendi: Where an instrument confers a life estate in property, the interest is transferable and a later restriction on alienation is void as repugnant to the grant; section 6(d) applies only when the enjoyment is purely personal and no proprietary interest is created.
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