Ely v. Ely

163 A.D. 320, 13 Mills Surr. 203, 148 N.Y.S. 691, 1914 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6974
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJuly 10, 1914
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 163 A.D. 320 (Ely v. Ely) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ely v. Ely, 163 A.D. 320, 13 Mills Surr. 203, 148 N.Y.S. 691, 1914 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6974 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1914).

Opinion

Clarke, J.:

This is an action to construe the will of Smith Ely, who died unmarried and childless at one o’clock on the morning of the [323]*3231st day of July, 1911, a resident of the city and county of New York, and eighty-six years of age. He left a will executed March 1, 1906, and a codicil executed June 23, 1911, which were duly admitted to prohate.

His personal estate was appraised at $666,216.84 and his real estate at $492,980.26, not including the value of decedent’s homeatNo. 47 West Fifty-seventh street appraisedat$37,868.43, which the codicil devised to his heirs.

By the 1st clause of his will he gave bequests to eleven individuals, five churches, to a cemetery and to his sister, Maria L. Yanderpoel, to whom he left his watches, jewelry, objects of art and bric-a-brac. By the 18th subdivision thereof he bequeathed $12,000 in trust to the United Charities, to devote the income arising therefrom to the payment of the expense of furnishing reading and musical entertainment from time to time to the blind paupers in charge of the city of New York.

By the 2d clause he bequeathed to his executors the sum of $200,000 in trust, to divide the same into four equal portions and to invest one such portion for the benefit of each of his three brothers and his one sister and to pay over the income arising therefrom during his or their life to such beneficiary. Upon the death of Ambrose K. Ely and Edwin A. Ely, respectively, he directed his trustees to pay over the principal of the trust held for their respective benefits to the American Sunday School Union; upon the death of his brother William H. Ely the trustees were directed to subdivide the principal of the trust fund for his benefit into two smaller shares and to pay over the rents, issues and profits from one of said smaller shares to each of his nieces, Julia E. Uriffen and Alice E. Chambers, during their respective lives, and upon their death the principal to their issue; on the death of his sister, Maria L. Yanderpoel, to pay over the rents, issues and profits of the fund held for her benefit to her son, Ambrose E. Yanderpoel, during his natural life, the principal to be paid to his issue; in the event of the death of both the said Maria L. Yanderpoel and the said Ambrose E. Yanderpoel, leaving no issue, to pay over and deliver the principal of the said trust fund to the New York Mission and Tract Society. By the 3d clause he provided for [324]*324the payment out of his residuary estate of all transfer and inheritance taxes on the foregoing legacies.

Fourth. All the rest, residue and remainder of my property, both real and personal, of whatever kind and wherever situate, I give, devise and bequeath to my executors hereinafter named, in trust, however, to invest and keep the same invested and to pay over the' income arising therefrom in equal shares or portions to the following named persons and the survivors of them, during the lives of my grandnieces Majorie Smylie and Alice Chambers, and the survivor of them, or until the surviving beneficiaries are reduced in number to ten, when and in either event I direct my said trustees to pay over and deliver the principal of the trust fund to the surviving beneficiaries in equal shares or portions, to wit: ” (naming thirty-six different persons).

“Fifth. I hereby nominate and appoint William H. Ely, Dr. Porter F. Chambers, Ambrose E. Vanderpoel and Dr. S. Ely Jelliffe to be the executors of and trustees under this my will and hereby authorize and empower them and the survivors and survivor of them in their and his discretion to lease or sell all or any part of the real property of which I may died seized at such time and in such manner as to them or him shall seem best and to execute and deliver good and sufficient leases and conveyances thereof and also, either as executors or trustees, to retain all or any part of the investments or securities of which I may die possessed and to invest the moneys belonging to my estate in such securities as they may in their discretion deem best, whether the same be authorized by law or not; and I further authorize and empower my said executors, or such of them as may qualify, and their substitutes as herein provided, the survivors and survivor of them, to fill any vacancies which may occur in their numbers by nominating substitutes, such nominees to qualify, with the approval of the Supreme Court or Surrogate’s Court, in the same manner and to have the same powers and duties as if herein named. I further direct that no bonds or other security for the faithful performance of their duties be required of my said executors and trustees or of any of them or of their said substitutes.”

May 29,1907, testator executed a deed of trust to the United [325]*325States Trust Company of New York by which he transferred to said company in trust the securities and assets set forth in a schedule attached thereto to hold, manage and invest and to pay the income thereof quarterly to himself during his life, or so long as he should so direct, and upon his death or such earlier direction, to pay said income in equal shares or portions to the following named persons, and the survivors of them. This trust, however, to continue only during the lives of Majorie Smylie and Alice E. Chambers, Jr., the grandnieces of the party of the first part, and the survivor of them or until the surviving beneficiaries hereinafter named are reduced in number to ten (10); and upon the death of the survivor of the said Majorie Smylie and Alice E. Chambers, Jr., or the prior reduction in the number of beneficiaries hereinafter named to ten, then and upon the happening of either event, to pay over and deliver the principal of the trust fund to the surviving beneficiaries in equal shares or portions, to wit: ” (naming forty-one persons).

And he reserved the right at any time during his life by an instrument in writing under his hand and duly acknowledged, to amend or revoke this trust deed and to change or terminate the trusts thereby created.

Attached to said deed was a fist of securities. The court has found that the value of the property held in said trust at the death of Smith Ely was $399,624.24. It remained in effect and unrevoked at testator’s death.

Of the forty-one ultimate beneficiaries named in this trust deed thirty-six were the same persons named as residuary beneficiaries under the 4th or residuary clause of the will and the trust estate was limited dn the same two lives or the reduction of the surviving beneficiaries to ten. June 11, 1909, Mr. Ely executed a codicil to his will of March 1, 1906. By this he revoked the bequest made by the 18th subdivision of paragraph 1, and all of the provisions of the 4th or residuary clause.

He gave and devised to his sister, Maria L. Vanderpoel, and his brothers, William H. Ely and Edwin A. Ely, the survivor and survivors of them, all his right, title and interest in and to the house and lot known by the street No. 4/7 West [326]*326Fifty-seventh street, and in what is known as the Ely homestead farm at Livingston, H. J., and all his other real property in Livingston, to be divided between them, share and share alike.

He made bequests to twenty-six additional individuals, four additional churches and to the Morris County Children’s Home.

The 4th clause, a substitute for the 4th clause of his will, specifically revoked, provided as follows:

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Bluebook (online)
163 A.D. 320, 13 Mills Surr. 203, 148 N.Y.S. 691, 1914 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6974, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ely-v-ely-nyappdiv-1914.