Final answer:
The 'destructibility of contingent remainders at common law' is an old legal principle stating that if a contingent event did not occur by the end of the preceding estate, the contingent remainder would be destroyed.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept of destructibility of contingent remainders at common law refers to a historical property law principle that if the contingency on which the remainder was contingent did not occur by the time the preceding estate ended, the contingent remainder was destroyed and could not take effect.
This means if someone held a life estate with a remainder to another person conditional on a specific event occurring, and that event did not occur by the end of the life estate, the contingent remainder holder would lose their interest in the property. An example would be if a property owner granted land to A for life, then to B and his heirs if B reached the age of 21. If B did not reach the age of 21 before A died, under the common law rule of destructibility, B's interest would be destroyed and would not take effect.