The Game Is Afoot!: The Significance of Gratuitous Transfers in the Sherlock Holmes Canon

48 Pages Posted: 17 Oct 2015

See all articles by Stephen R. Alton

Stephen R. Alton

Texas A&M University School of Law

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Date Written: 2011

Abstract

This article presents a recently discovered and previously unpublished manuscript written by John H. Watson, M.D., and annotated by Professor Stephen Alton. Dr. Watson’s manuscript records an extended conversation that took place between the good doctor and his great friend, the renowned consulting detective Mr. Sherlock Holmes, regarding issues of gratuitous transfers of property – issues involving inheritances, wills, and trusts – that have arisen in some of the great cases solved by Mr. Holmes. This felicitous discovery confirms something that Professor Alton has long known: these gratuitous transfer issues permeate many of these adventures. Often, the action in the case occurs because of the desire of the wrong-doer to come into an inheritance, a bequest, or the present possession of an estate in land more quickly – perhaps by dispatching the intervening heir, beneficiary, or life tenant. Professor Alton has annotated this manuscript, providing extensive analysis of these issues and citations to relevant, contemporary authority in his footnotes.

Keywords: Gratuitous Transfers, Sherlock Holmes, Rule Against Perpetuities, Trusts, Estates, Wills

Suggested Citation

Alton, Stephen R., The Game Is Afoot!: The Significance of Gratuitous Transfers in the Sherlock Holmes Canon (2011). Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Journal, Vol. 46, Spring 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2674868

Stephen R. Alton (Contact Author)

Texas A&M University School of Law ( email )

1515 Commerce St.
Fort Worth, TX Tarrant County 76102
United States
817-212-4115 (Phone)

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