Cadwalader Estate

69 Pa. D. & C. 50, 1949 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 278
CourtPennsylvania Orphans' Court, Philadelphia County
DecidedOctober 7, 1949
Docketno. 428 of 1946
StatusPublished

This text of 69 Pa. D. & C. 50 (Cadwalader Estate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Orphans' Court, Philadelphia County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cadwalader Estate, 69 Pa. D. & C. 50, 1949 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 278 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1949).

Opinion

Boland, J.,

This matter is before the court upon exceptions of the widow and children of John Cadwalader, Jr., who was one of the four children of John Cadwalader. The latter died March 11,1925, having first made his will dated January 22, 1920, and a codicil on January 27, 1920. The will created a residuary trust to pay the net income to his wife for life, and upon her death to divide the net income equally among his four children, Sophia Cadwalader, Mary Helen Cadwalader, John Cadwalader, Jr., and Thomas Francis Cadwalader, during their respective lives, with certain remainders.

The widow of testator and first life tenant died December 29,1937. John Cadwalader, Jr., predeceased his mother, having died June 10, 1934, testate, leaving a widow and three children, all of whom are now of age. John Cadwalader, Jr., by his will, exercised a limited power of appointment by giving his share of income from his father’s estate in the following proportions: Two fifths to his widow, and one fifth each to his three children for the duration of the trust. Had it not been for the exercise of the limited power of appointment conferred by the codicil of January 27,1920, the three [52]*52children would have received all the income of one fourth of John Cadwalader’s residuary estate.

Mary Helen Cadwalader died October 23, 1945, unmarried and without issue, leaving a will bequeathing her entire estate- to her sister, Sophia, and including an attempt to dispose of her one fourth of income from her father’s estate to Sophia. As this exercise of her limited power of appointment was contrary to the provisions and limitations of her father’s codicil, it was ineffective, thus creating the problem presented to the auditing judge for a proper disposition of her one fourth of income.

Sophia Cadwalader, unmarried daughter, and Thomas Francis, a son, of the original decedent, survive.

Subsequent to the widow’s death in 1937, the net income was paid to Sophia, Mary Helen and Thomas Francis, one fourth each, and the remaining fourth to the widow and children of John, Jr., in the proportions appointed by the latter’s will and codicil.

The question submitted to the auditing judge is whether, under the terms of the will of testator, the widow and children of John Cadwalader, Jr., may share in distribution of the one fourth of income released by the death of Mary Helen Cadwalader, or whether the share in question should go to augment the shares of the two other children, Sophia and Thomas Francis Cadwalader, thus adding a one-eighth share of income to the one fourth they are presently receiving.

The auditing judge concluded that the latter is the proper mode of distribution. The adjudication of this question of construction was made by the auditing judge in a partial adjudication filed December 31, 1948, and reaffirmed by him in his final adjudication of May 20, 1949. Exceptions were filed by the widow [53]*53and children of John Cadwalader, Jr., the deceased son of testator.

The matter was ably argued and excellent briefs submitted by counsel for both sides, but upon careful consideration we are of opinion that the auditing judge did not err in his conclusion.

It is to be noted at the outset that we are determining only the present disposition of the one-quarter share of income paid to Mary Helen Cadwalader, daughter of testator, during her lifetime, and this determination is without prejudice to the rights of any of the parties at the respective deaths of Sophia and Thomas. This is in conformity with our practice: Willard’s Appeal, 65 Pa. 265; Hano’s Estate, 8 Dist. R. 353; Glanding’s Estate, 15 Dist. R. 985.

The will of testator placed his residuary estate in trust “to pay to her (widow) the net interest and income of my entire estate so long as she shall live. And upon the death of my said wife to hold the said property in Trust, to divide the net interest and income equally among my four children, Sophia Cadwalader, Mary Helen Cadwalader, John Cadwalader, Junior, Thomas Francis Cadwalader, during their respective lives and upon the death of either or both of my said daughters to hold their said shares for the benefit of the survivors in equal shares during their respective lives and upon the death of either or both of my said sons to hold their respective shares as well as the shares of either or both of my said daughters if they shall have died for the benefit of my grandchildren who may be living at the death of all of my children or for the issue of any grandchild who may have died leaving issue at the death of my surviving child. My purpose being that my estate shall vest absolutely in my grandchildren or their issue who may survive my four children. Upon the death, however, of either of my said sons, the share of the income that they have received [54]*54at the time of their death shall be held by the Trustees of my estate for the benefit of the child or children that either of my sons so dying may leave during the life of my remaining children.”

The pertinent paragraph of the codicil which counsel for exceptants asserts as modifying the will to assure the widow and children of John Cadwalader, Jr., a share in this income of Mary Helen Cadwalader, is as follows:

“I think it right that my children should have a limited testamentary power of appointment over their shares of my estate, I therefore now provide that each and all of my children may by any last will and testament make such distribution of his or her share of my estate real and personal to and among their wife or wives, husband or husbands, children and nieces and nephews in such shares or proportions and in such way either by direct payments and distribution or by creating trusts for such wife or wives, husband or husbands, children or nieces and nephews for and during their respective lives.”

We are thoroughly conscious of the now well established general rule that in the absence of contrary evidence of a different intention, survivorship will be taken as referring to the death of testator, and that the words “survivor” or “surviving” will be understood as the equivalent of “other”, where in any other sense it would lead to an intestacy or to inequality among those standing in the same degree of relationship to testator, or to a distribution not in accordance with the general scheme of the will in its entirety: Fox’s Estate, 222 Pa. 108 (1908); Nass’ Estate, 320 Pa. 380; Albertson’s Estate, 329 Pa. 372; Galli’s Estate, 340 Pa. 561. In Handy’s Estate, 314 Pa. 61 (1934), the court, writing of this at page 62, stated:

“This canon of construction was clearly enunciated by Penrose, J., in Sterling’s Est., 24 W, N. C. 495, [55]*55where, disregarding the later English cases, he said that in the absence of controlling evidence of a different intention, the survivorship will be understood as referring to the death of the testator. Of course, the testator’s intention must ahoays govern, but the general rule is as stated.” (Italics supplied.)

It is to be noted that, in these cases and others submitted by counsel for exceptants to sustain his argument, the decisions were rendered in connection with the distribution of principal, and the courts held that to carry out the true intent of testator as determined by the terms of his will, the words “survivor”, “survivors” or “surviving”, as used therein referred to testator’s death.

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Bluebook (online)
69 Pa. D. & C. 50, 1949 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 278, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cadwalader-estate-paorphctphilad-1949.