Home/Missouri Court of Appeals/Cavers v. St. Louis Union Trust Co.

Cavers v. St. Louis Union Trust Co.

531 S.W.2d 526
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 16, 1975
Docket36471-36473, 36482 and 36483
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 531 S.W.2d 526 (Cavers v. St. Louis Union Trust Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cavers v. St. Louis Union Trust Co., 531 S.W.2d 526 (Mo. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

CLEMENS, Presiding Judge.

In 1915 Mrs. Eliza Northrup McMillan died testate in St. Louis survived by one son, William McMillan. By her will Mrs. McMillan made substantial devises and bequests to him and his wife and numerous $5,000 bequests to friends. Insofar as we are now concerned, Mrs. McMillan left the residue of her estate, then valued at over two million dollars, in trust for two groups of people. This 60-year-old trust now is valued at over seventeen million dollars and arguably has terminated; hence the present litigation.

By this suit plaintiffs, who are some of the residuary trust beneficiaries, seek a declaratory judgment to construe Mrs. McMillan’s will to determine whether the testamentary trust has terminated and, if terminated, to whom the trust corpus should be paid.

The core issue: Plaintiffs contend that when a bequest in trust grants a life annuity to a beneficiary, with the corpus payable on his death to named remaindermen, and the life annuitant relinquishes his annuity, the trust thereby terminates and the corpus becomes immediately payable to the re-maindermen. The trial court ruled the trust had terminated and awarded fractional shares of the corpus to five persons, living descendants of eight original remain- *528 dermen. 1 Appeals were taken by the corporate trustee and persons who contend the trust has not terminated or who claim they now have, or may later become entitled to, shares in the trust corpus.

The will. By Eliza McMillan’s will, admitted to probate in 1916, she bequeathed the residue of her estate in trust. By Item Fifth the testatrix named a trustee and 43 life annuitants, including Paul Cadwell, to receive for life monthly payments ranging from $25 to $250. All the life annuitants are now dead except Paul Cadwell, now over 85 years old, and he has relinquished his annuity. Additionally, the testatrix named eight persons, or their descendants to receive the trust corpus upon death of the life annuitants (or upon other legal termination of the trust?). Each of the eight original remaindermen has died, two without descendants. Living descendants of the other remaindermen contend the trust has terminated, and they accept the proportionate shares of the corpus as ordered distributed by the trial court. Immediate descendants of those distributees (sub-stitutional remaindermen) who might take upon termination if it occurred upon the death of Paul Cadwell, oppose present termination.

Trust decreed terminated. The threshold issue is whether the testamentary trust has terminated. Paul Cadwell, the sole surviv- or of the 43 life annuitants under the trust, has “released and disclaimed” his annuity interest. Did that as a matter of law accelerate the remainder interests of the remain-dermen into present interests? The trial court ruled affirmatively on the termination issue, and ordered the corpus distributed as follows: Jean Cavers, ⅜½»; Elizabeth M. Morrison, ⅞½»; Florence J. McLeod, %4ths; Trustees of Florence Murial Nairn, %4ths; Frederick K. Ashbaugh, ¾⅛. Those parties accept this as the proper division of the corpus.

The relationship and status of the original and successor remaindermen is shown on the following chart:

*529

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Related

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625 S.W.2d 241 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1981)
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Underwood v. Gillespie
594 S.W.2d 372 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1980)

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Bluebook (online)
531 S.W.2d 526, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cavers-v-st-louis-union-trust-co-moctapp-1975.