The perpetuities period is calculated from creation and includes which components?

• A. Lives in being at creation plus 21 years, including gestation
• B. The grantor's life plus 100 years
• C. Nine months
• D. Any period of time the grantor wishes

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that the perpetuities period is measured from when the interest is created and is limited to the lives who are in being at that moment, plus a fixed tail of 21 years. That tail includes any gestation—so a child conceived but not yet born at creation is counted as a life in being for purposes of determining when the vesting can occur, and the 21-year period runs from the death of the last life in being plus that gestation time.

So the valid duration is the lives in being at creation plus 21 years, including gestation. It isn’t tied to the grantor’s life plus an arbitrary number of years, it isn’t just nine months, and it isn’t something the grantor can set to any period.