The Protection Built Into Future Interests
When a property owner creates a future interest for someone else, that interest carries real legal weight. The person currently using the property (the holder of the "precedent estate") cannot simply eliminate the future interest by selling the property, surrendering their own interest, or merging it with another estate.
An estate in expectancy may not be defeated or barred by alienation or other act of the owner of the intermediate or precedent estate, nor by destruction of the precedent estate by disseizin, forfeiture, surrender, merger or otherwise, except in the manner provided or authorized in the creation of the expectant estate.
A.R.S. § 33-225This is a significant protection. Under older common law, the holder of a life estate or other present interest sometimes had ways to destroy future interests that followed. Arizona closes that door.
The One Exception
The statute includes a narrow but important exception: the original grant or devise that created the future interest can include terms that allow it to be defeated. If the document that set up the arrangement specifically authorizes the current owner to take actions that would end the future interest, those terms control.
This means the person creating the arrangement has the power to decide how much protection the future interest receives. A well-drafted deed or trust document can build in exactly the right balance of flexibility and security. Without clear language in the original document, though, the future interest is protected by default.
For families using life estates or remainder interests as part of their property planning, this statute provides reassurance. The person living in the property today cannot undermine the interest of the person who is set to receive it next.
