Abeyance (from the Old French abeance meaning "gaping"), a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. In Law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment In law, the term abeyance can only be applied to such future estates as have not yet vested or possibly may not vest. For example, an estate is granted to A for life, with remainder to the heir of B. A remainder in Property Law is a Future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferree or Remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory During B's lifetime, the remainder is in abeyance, for until the death of B it is uncertain who his heir is. Similarly the freehold of a benefice, on the death of the incumbent, is said to be in abeyance until the next incumbent takes possession. Fee simple is an estate in land in Common law. It is the most common way Real estate is owned in common law countries and is ordinarily the most Originally a benefice was a gift of land ( Precaria) for life as a reward for services rendered

Peerage law

The most common use of the term is in the case of English peerage dignities. The Peerage is a system of Titles of Nobility in the United Kingdom, part of the British honours system. Most such peerages pass to heirs-male, but the ancient baronies created by writ, as well as some very old earldoms, pass instead to heirs-general, also known as male primogeniture. An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death resignation or removal of its current occupant A barony is an Administrative division of a country usually of lower rank and importance than a County. Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. Earl was the Anglo-Saxon form and jarl the Scandinavian form of a title meaning " Chieftain " and referring especially to chieftains An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death resignation or removal of its current occupant In this system, sons are preferred from eldest to youngest, the heirs of a son over the next son, and any son over daughters, but there is no preference among daughters: they or their heirs inherit equally.

If the daughter is an only child or her sisters are deceased and have no living issue, she (or her heir) is vested with the title; otherwise, since a peerage cannot be shared nor divided, the dignity goes into abeyance between the sisters or their heirs, and is held by no one. If through lack of issue, marriage or both, eventually only one person represents the claims of all the sisters, he or she can claim the dignity as a matter of right, and the abeyance is said to be terminated. On the other hand, the number of prospective heirs can grow quite large, since each share potentially can be divided between daughters.

A co-heir may petition the Crown for a termination of the abeyance. The Crown may choose to grant the petition, but if there is any doubt whatsoever as to the pedigree of the petitioner, the claim is normally referred to the Committee for Privileges. The British Peerage is governed by a body of law that has developed over several centuries If the claim is unopposed, the Committee will generally award the claim, unless there is evidence of collusion, the peerage has been in abeyance for more than a century, or if the petitioner holds less than one-third of the claim. Collusion is an agreement usually secretive which occurs between two or more persons to deceive mislead or defraud others of their legal rights or to obtain an objective forbidden

It is entirely possible for a peerage to remain in abeyance for centuries. For example, the Barony of Grey of Codnor was in abeyance for over 490 years between 1496 and 1989, and the Barony of Hastings was similarly in abeyance for over 299 years from 1542 to 1841. The title Baron Grey, of Codnor in the County of Derby, is an old one in the Peerage of England. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Baron Hastings is a title that has been created three times The first creation was in the Peerage of England in 1295 and is still extant For the game see 1841 (board game. Year 1841 ( MDCCCXLI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link Some other baronies became abeyant in the thirteenth century, and the abeyance has yet to be terminated. The only titles other than a barony that have yet gone into abeyance are the earldom of Arlington and the viscountcy of Thetford, which are united. Baron Arlington is a title in the Peerage of England. In 1664 it was created for Sir Henry Bennet, younger brother of John Bennet 1st Baron Ossulston,

Titles in the Peerage of Scotland cannot go into abeyance. The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. In Scotland, the eldest sister is preferred over younger sisters; sisters are not considered equal coheirs.

It is common, but incorrect, to speak of peerage dignities which are dormant (i. e. unclaimed) as being in abeyance.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
• Cokayne, George Edward. George Edward Cokayne, FSA ( 29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911) was a long-serving officer of arms at the College The Complete Peerage. The Complete Peerage (full title The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom ISBN 0-904387-82-8 and ISBN 0-7509-0154-3.

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