A fee simple determinable is a fee simple estate that has a condition or contingency attached thereto and that must be determined whenever the condition or contingency annexed to it is at an end, being a fee for the reason that it may last forever if the contingency does not happen but it could terminate because its duration depends upon collateral circumstances which qualify or debase it. See McIntyre v. Dietrich, 294 Ill. 126, 130, 128 N.E. 321, 322 (1920); Marenholz v. County Board of School Trustees, 93 Ill. App.3d 366, 375, 417 N.E.2d 138, 145 (1981). The condition or contingency upon which the fee simple estate would terminate in this instance, Blanche remarrying, never occurred, because she remained C.E.'s widow for the remainder of her lifetime, and it can never occur, because Blanche is now deceased.
It is true that the last sentence of the above-quoted passage appears to create a possibility of reverter in the grantor. While possibilities of reverter often follow a fee interest (e.g., Mahrenholz v. County Board of School Trustees of LawrenceCounty, 93 Ill. App.3d 366, 371 (1981)), they may follow other interests as well (see In re Estate of Bentley, 14 Ill. App.3d 630, 633 (1973) (observing that "future interests in personal property have been recognized in Illinois")). Easements may be held subject to future interests such as possibilities of reverter and rights of reentry (Abrams v. Royse, 211 Ill. App.3d 283, 286 (1991); City of Urbana v. Solo Cup Co., 66 Ill. App.3d 45, 46 (1978)); hence, ascribing the intent to create such an interest runs afoul of no rule of law.
JUSTICE RARICK delivered the opinion of the court: This appeal arises from an action to quiet title to a 1 1/2-acre tract of land located in Lawrence County, Illinois. Plaintiffs, Herbert and Betty Mahrenholz, filed their first complaint against defendants, County Board of School Trustees of Lawrence County and the Board of Education, Community Unit School District No. 20, in April of 1974. They since have been before us twice prior to this appeal. (See Mahrenholz v. County Board of School Trustees (1981), 93 Ill. App.3d 366, 417 N.E.2d 138 ( Mahrenholz I), and Mahrenholz v. County Board of School Trustees (1984), 125 Ill. App.3d 619, 466 N.E.2d 322 ( Mahrenholz II).) The controversy stems from the original conveyance of the land by W.E. and Jennie Hutton in 1941 to the Trustees of Schools of District Number One of the town of Allison (defendants' predecessor in interest) by warranty deed "to be used for school purpose only; otherwise to revert to Grantor." The school district subsequently built a school on the site, commonly known as Hutton School. The Huttons then conveyed the adjoining farmland and their reversionary interest in the school site to the Jacqmains, who in turn conveyed their interest to plaintiffs in 1959.
On the first occasion, plaintiffs, Herbert L. and Betty Mahrenholz, appealed from a judgment against them on the pleadings and in favor of defendants, County Board of School Trustees of Lawrence County and Board of Education, Community Unit School District Number 20, Lawrence and Crawford Counties. This court reversed and remanded. ( Mahrenholz v. County Board of School Trustees (1981), 93 Ill. App.3d 366, 417 N.E.2d 138.) On remand, the circuit court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment, and plaintiffs appeal. Defendants have filed no cross-appeal.