Cook v. Lowry

36 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 20
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 15, 1883
StatusPublished

This text of 36 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 20 (Cook v. Lowry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cook v. Lowry, 36 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 20 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1883).

Opinion

Smith, P. J.:

This action was brought to obtain a construction of the will of Nathaniel A. Lowry, deceased, and to compel the defendant, as trustee, to account for certain accumulations under the provisions of said will that had come into his hands. The testator died 20th February, 1852, leaving an estate, real and personal, of the value of about $200,000. He gave by the first seven paragraphs of his will several minor legacies, among which were an annuity of $100 to Therina Hall, and the annual interest of $2,000 to, Lydia Hall. By the eighth paragraph he gave one-fourth of the residue of his estate to each of his sons William H., Augustus N. and Alexander M., the defendant. By the ninth paragraph he directed that the remaining fourth and the income thereof should be invested by his executors during the natural life of his only daughter, Georgiana Elizabeth, except that the income of $25,000 thereof should be paid to her semi-annually, and in case of her death without issue, the said fourth was given to the testator’s said sons in equal shares, but if she died, leaving lawful issue, then said fourth was given to such issue. At the time of her father’s death the said Georgiana was about fourteen years old. In 1855 she intermarried with Thomas Cook, and on the 25th March, 1857, the plaintiff was born of that marriage, and she is the sole issue of the said Georgiana. The will named as executors, Richard P. Marvin, Madison Bunnell, Augustus F. Allen and William H. Lowry, one of the testator’s sons. Judge Marvin renounced, and the other executors took but letters. At the time of the death of the testator, all of his children except William H. were minors. The defendant, Alexander M. became of age about the 1st of July, 1865. Shortly thereafter, the executors commenced proceedings before the surrogate of Chautauqua county, for a final settlement of their accounts; and a final decree, or rather a final statement of accounts was made therein by the surrogate on 23d March, 1866. Pending those proceedings [23]*23Augustus executed an instrument acknowledging full receipt from the executors of his share of the estate, and assigning to William any sum that might appear to belong to him on the settlement. On the day when the final statement was made William executed a like instrument, acknowledging full receipt from the executors of his share and assigning to Alexander all the interest assigned to him by Augustus, and also all 1ns own residuary interest in the estate (if any) by reason of the death of any legatee or otherwise. The final statement made by the surrogate recited that William had received $50,000, Augustus $59,845.42 and Alexander, $77,115.77 in full of their respective shares in the estate, and that there remained in the hands of William, who had been the acting executor, the sum of $51,567.33, of which, after investing sufficient to raise the annuities bequeathed to Therina and Lydia Hall, there remained $48,258.83 which, as the.decree states, “by the terms and conditions of the said will is invested for the benefit of the said Georgiana and her heirs.” Thereupojj, the executors were declared to be discharged. On 22d May, 1866, by an order of this court, Alexander M. Lowry was appointed trustee of said fund, on his filing a bond as required by the order, which he did on the third of December, following. Therina Hall died August 23, 1873. Lydia Hall is still living. This action was commemced in the spring of 1875, and in May of that year a trial of - the action was had at Special Term, and the court found the facts above stated, and also that the said sum of $48,158.83, mentioned in the surrogate’s decree, was made up entirely of moneys arising from the estate of said testator, and that no part of it consisted of accumulations; that William received his share of the estate soon after his father’s death, and Augustus received his share about three year’s after that event. The court also found, as matter of law, that the trust created by the ninth clause of the will is valid; that the direction to accumulate tire fund mentioned in that clause, that is to say, so much of said fund as exceeds the sum of $25,000, .the income of which latter sum is directed to be paid to Georgiana, is void ; that such accumulation belongs to the plaintiff as the person presumptively entitled to the next eventual estate, and her right to it commenced at her birth. And that one fourth of the principal sum invested to raise the annuity of $100 for Therina Hall belongs to the fund created by the ninth clarrse of [24]*24the will, and the other three-fourths belong to the defendant Alexander, in his own right and as the assignee of his brotlzez’s; and the court sent the case to a referee to take arid report an account of said fund and its accumulations. An interlocutory judgment was enteimd to that effect. . The referee took an account and in July, 1879, he made his report. Each party excepted to the report, and in November of that year the cause came on to be heard at Special Term on the referee’s report and the exceptions, and a final judgment was entered from which each party has appealed. The appeals bring up for review the interlocutory judgment and several intermediate orders, as well as the final judgznent. It is undoubtedly time, as is conceded by the counsel for each party to this appeal, that the trust created by the ninth paragraph of the will is valid, and the direction for the accumulation of the fund set apart by that paragi’aph, beyond the sum of $25,000, is void because not limited to the minority of any person in being at the death of the testator. (1 R. S., 726, § 37; Id., 773 § 3.)

The principal question in the case is as to the devolution of the void accumulations. Do they, or so much of them as have accrued since the birth of the plaintiff, go to her as the person presumptively entitled to the next eventual estate (the gift of the principal, to wit, the one-fourth of the residue of the estate, being to her mother Georgiana, and her lawful issue), or do they go to the heirs of the testator as property in respect to which he died intestate ? The gift, it will be observed, is of one-fourtli of the residue of the testator’s real as well as personal estate, and if the accumulations referred to consist to any extent of the rents and profits of real estate, they belong to the plaintiff by force of the provisions of section 40 of the article of the Revised Statutes entitled “ Of the creation and division of estates.” (1 R. S., 726, § 40.) The case has been argued before us, however, on both sides, as if the accumulations consisted exclusively of the income of personal property, and it may be that the voluminous appeal book before us contains evidence that such is the fact, but our attention has not been directed to it, and we have not discovered it. Nevertheless, we follow the counsel in that respect, and-in dealing with the question under consideration, we assume the fact to be as assuzned by them. It is provided by the first section of the title of the Revised Statutes [25]*25relating to u Accumulations of personal property, and of expectant estates in such property,” that the absolute ownership of personal property shall not be suspended for more than two lives, etc. (1 R. S., 773, § 1.) The second section then provides that “in all other respects, limitations of future or contingent interests in personal property shall be subject to the rules prescribed in the first chapter of this act, in relation to future estates in lands.” (Id., § 2.) The chapter referred to includes the article respecting the “ creation and division of estates,” above cited, but the contention of the defendant’s counsel is that it does not include the fortieth section of that article..

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Bluebook (online)
36 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 20, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cook-v-lowry-nysupct-1883.