Equitable Trust Co. v. Ward

48 A.2d 519, 29 Del. Ch. 206, 1946 Del. Ch. LEXIS 67
CourtCourt of Chancery of Delaware
DecidedJuly 31, 1946
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 48 A.2d 519 (Equitable Trust Co. v. Ward) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Chancery of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Equitable Trust Co. v. Ward, 48 A.2d 519, 29 Del. Ch. 206, 1946 Del. Ch. LEXIS 67 (Del. Ct. App. 1946).

Opinion

Harrington, Chancellor:

This is a bill to construe the last will and testament of Christopher L. Ward, deceased. Mr. Ward died testate February 20th, 1943, a resident of Pennsbury Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and his will was duly proved in that County and State; an exemplified copy thereof was also filed in the office of the Register of Wills, for New Castle County, Delaware. The answer of the guardian ad litem denied the allegation of the bill that Christopher L. Ward was a resident of the State of Pennsylvania at the time of his death, but the proof did not justify that claim and it was not strongly pressed at the argument.

The testator bequeathed and devised the residue and remainder of his real and personal property to Equitable Trust Company, the complainant, a corporation of this State, having its principal office in the City of Wilmington, on the . following trusts:

“Item 2. * * *:
“First. To hold my residence and the land thereto appertaining, including the farm, in trust for the use and occupancy of my said wife during her lifetime or for so long a period as she may choose and desire to occupy the same, paying the taxes, insurance and necessary repairs and upkeep thereof as a first charge out of and against the income of the trust properties herein devised and bequeathed, which upkeep, however, shall not include the payment of wages to [212]*212farmers, farm hands or other workmen or employees, it being my desire that, if my wife during her lifetime or .during her occupancy of said residence wishes to continue the use and occupancy of the farm adjacent to my residence, she shall pay the wages and other necessary charges and expenses and shall receive for her own use all the proceeds and products thereof; but if my said wife prefers to discontinue the use and occupancy of said farm as above set forth, then and in that event, my said trustee shall rent the farm to a suitable tenant or tenants and the income and rentals therefrom shall become and be a portion of the income of this trust estate; in which latter event, the delimitation of that portion to be rented as the farm shall be agreed upon by my said wife and my said trustee and only such portion thereof as may be so agreed upon shall be so rented as a farm. This provision allowing my said wife the use of said farm and dwelling-house shall not extend to nor include the use of the dwelling-house on the Kennett-Pike, known as the Line House, nor the cottage on said Pike adjacent to said Line House, nor the cottage on my private road. Said three buildings and the land appertaining to them (being, in case of the last mentioned cottage, one acre in extent) shall be held by said Trustee as rentable properties as hereinafter directed.
“Second. At and upon the death of my said wife or upon her sooner ceasing to occupy the said residence as her residence, then the said residence and all the farm and land thereunto appertaining (including the said Line House and cottages hereinbefore mentioned) shall be sold publicly or privately, for cash or on time, upon such terms and conditions as to my trustee shall seem best, and the proceeds thereof held and invested as a portion of this trust estate.
“The said Line House and the land appertaining thereto and the said cottages and the lands appertaining thereto shall be rented by the said trustee and the income thereof shall become a part of the income of this trust estate but, if in the discretion of my trustees it seems desirable and for the betterment of the trust estate and the income therefrom to sell said Line House and the land appertaining thereto, and/or the said cottages or either of them, and the lands appertaining thereto, then my trustees shall have the power to sell the same publicly or privately and add the proceeds thereof to the said trust estate and in any event, the said Line House property and the said cottage properties may, if for the advantage of this trust estate, be in all respects considered and treated as separate parcels both in the renting and in the sale thereof, Provided, that the said last mentioned cottage shall not be sold during my wife’s occupancy " of the mansion house except with her written consent.
[213]*213“Third: * * *
“(1) To retain ten per centum (10%) of the net income annually and to add this amount to the principal or corpus and to hold such addition as a part thereof under the same terms and conditions as are applicable to the original principal or corpus. This provision shall continue in force during the life of this trust, and the words ‘net income’ hereinafter used shall be construed and taken to mean net income after retention of ten per centum (10%) thereof.
“(2) The net income hereof shall be distributed in quarterly instalments as follows: two-fifths (2/5) thereof to my said wife, the balance, share and share alike, to and among my children. If any of said children have died leaving a widow and issue' surviving or a widow with no surviving issue, or issue but no surviving widow, the share of net income to which such decedent would have been entitled shall be paid to and among them as follows; to such surviving widow and issue in equal shares (issue of such decedent’s deceased child taking their parent’s share), or to such surviving issue, no widow surviving, in equal shares (issue of decedent’s deceased child taking their parents share), or to such surviving widow, no issue surviving, one-half of the share then to be paid to my other children or to their surviving issue or surviving widow and issue. The payments allotted by this paragraph to any widow (except niy own widow) shall continue only durante viduatate, and upon re-marriage of any such widow the share of net income thereby allotted to her shall be paid to and among the surviving issue of her marriage with my son, in like manner as hereinbefore in this paragraph provided for distribution to surviving issue of my children.
“(3) * * *
"(4) * * *
“(5) At and upon the happening of either of the following events, whichever may be later in time, that is to say, (a) when the youngest then living grandchild of mine shall reach the age of twenty-one (21) years or (b) twenty-one (21) years after the death of my last surviving child then Trustee shall thereupon divide, .pay over and distribute the principal or corpus of this trust fund, together with all accrued and uncollected or undistributed income, discharged of all trusts, to and among the my issue, in such manner that the issue of one deceased child of mine shall receive the Same amount as the issue of any other deceased child of mine, any one of the my issue taking its proportionate share of the share to which its parent would be entitled if living. There shall however be preserved in trust, durante viduatate, such proportion of the principal or corpus of this trust as shall represent the share of income payable [214]*214to any surviving wife of any son of mine, and such share of the principal or corpus shall be distributed at her death or re-marriage free of any trust and in the same proportions and to the same persons as were entitled to share in the earlier distribution of the principal or corpus under the terms of this agreement.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
48 A.2d 519, 29 Del. Ch. 206, 1946 Del. Ch. LEXIS 67, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/equitable-trust-co-v-ward-delch-1946.