Mortmain

Mortmain (Fr. morte main) signifies in law the dead hand of a corporation. At an early period (1279) the English parliament took note of the mischief which resulted from the transfer of land to religious corporations; statutes were passed restricting the right of corporations generally to hold land. At the present day a corporation, whether it be a college or a railway company, cannot acquire and dispose of land, except in so far as its charter or act of parliament authorises it to do so. The statutes of mortmain were directed against corporations generally; the so-called Mortmain Act of 1736 was apparently intended to guard against improvident gifts of land by will for charitable purposes. The Mortmain and Charitable Uses Act, 1891, allows land to be left by will; but it must be sold within a year or other period fixed by the High Court or Charity Commissioners. Money given to purchase land, and moneys charged upon land, are within the provisions. Land situated in Scotland, in the colonies, or in foreign countries is not within the policy of the English statutes. In Scotland the common law put a somewhat similar check on deathbed alienations of land; but this check has been abolished by statute. In the United States the laws of several states limit the amount of real estate which may be held by religious bodies and charitable societies; and the laws of the United States impose a limit in the Territories.