A landowner conveyed land by a deed to a church 'so long as the land herein conveyed is used as the site for the principal religious edifice maintained by said church.' Twenty years later the church dissolved and dies; Who will prevail in an action by the heir vs. the state over the land?

• A. The attorney general.
• B. The landowner's heir, as successor to the possibility of reverter.
• C. The church's successors.
• D. The state.

Answer: (B)

The language creates a fee simple determinable with a possibility of reverter in the grantor’s estate. In substance, the land is given to the church only as long as it is used for the site of the principal religious edifice; if that use ceases, the estate automatically terminates and the property reverts to the grantor or the grantor’s heirs.

When the church dissolved, the specified use ended, so the condition was breached and title reverted automatically. Since the grantor has died, the reverter passes to the grantor’s heirs, not to the state. The state would only obtain the land if there were no heirs to take the reverter (escheat). Therefore, the heir, as successor to the possibility of reverter, will prevail.