Foust v. William E. English Foundation

80 N.E.2d 303, 118 Ind. App. 484, 1948 Ind. App. LEXIS 177
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 29, 1948
DocketNo. 17,784.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 80 N.E.2d 303 (Foust v. William E. English Foundation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Foust v. William E. English Foundation, 80 N.E.2d 303, 118 Ind. App. 484, 1948 Ind. App. LEXIS 177 (Ind. Ct. App. 1948).

Opinion

Eoyse, C. J.

William E. English died testate, a resident of Marion County, April 29, 1926. His will was *486 admitted to probate in the Probate Court of Marion County on May 6, 1926, and the executors therein named duly qualified. Their final report was approved on February 18, 1928. By Provision 27 of his will said decedent created a public charitable trust. This action involves the construction of this trust and the power and authority of the Trustee to sell certain real estate. We set out the trust provision in full:

“All the rest and residue of my estate, real and personal, wherever situated, and including the remainder interest in said Scott County property, the life interest in which is by Item XXVI hereof given to my wife, I give, devise and bequeath in fee simple unto my said wife, Helen Orr English, and the Fletcher Savings & Trust Company of Indianapolis, as trustees. Said trustees shall hold said property for the purposes, with the powers and charged with the duties hereinafter granted, or by the law implied as reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes hereof. Said trustees shall hold and manage said property with the idea of preserving the general trust estate in good condition and developing the best income consistent with the entire security of the principal. They shall have full power of sale, mortgage, lease for any length of time less than one hundred years, investment and reinvestment, improvement of real estate, pledge of personal property and all other powers relating to the management and control of said trust estate as fully as I would personally have were I then living and doing such acts; except that said Trustees shall not have the power, during the period of their trust, to sell the Scott County property in which my wife is given a life interest under Item XXVI hereof, or the property owned by me in the City of Indianapolis, Indiana, fronting on Monument Circle, and constituting that part of the property owned by me and occupied by the English Hotel and Theatre, which is not included in the ninety-nine (99) year lease dated November 5, 1919, with the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, as modified by agreement dated March *487 3, 1924, wherein a part of the original property embraced in said lease was released therefrom, nor shall the Trustees have power to make any lease to said Monument Place property extending more than five years beyond the termination of the trust created in said Trustees. Said Trustees shall not be required to procure the prior consent or subsequent approval of any court or of any person or corporation to any such acts as are herein authorized to be performed by said Trustees, in order to give full legal authority thereto, and full protection to any person relying thereon.
“Without meaning to bind my Trustees thereby, it is my judgment that it would be wise for them to retain down town properties so long as the same may seem prudent, and keep the same improved so as to be readily rentable to a good class of tenants, and that any outlying properties remaining as a part of my estate should be sold when the same can be prudently done and the proceeds either applied to the reduction of mortgage indebtedness, if any exists, or to the improvement of the remaining downtown property, if there be any, or investment in good securities.
“Such trustees shall carry adequate insurance on the improvements against fire and other casualties, and if by fire or other casualty, injury to any improvement should result and the insurance monies collected should be insufficient to restore the premises or to make such new improvements as the trustees may deem desirable, or in event, irrespective of injury or casualty, the trustees should unanimously determine that any new improvements is highly necessary to the development of any of said trust property, then said trustees may execute a mortgage upon any real estate so to be improved securing their obligation given on account of the monies borrowed to accomplish such improvements; and in such event, it is my judgment that when reasonably possible, the trustees should set aside some fair portion of the income from the property so improved, thus enabling them to gradually pay off such mortgage indebtedness. In event of failure to qualify, refusal to act or resignation at any time of the *488 Fletcher Savings & Trust Company of Indianapolis, as one of the trustees named hereunder, then the Probate Court of Marion County, Indiana, or other Court having jurisdiction of trustees, shall be authorized to appoint a successor on the application of any interested party, said successor to be selected from among the three leading Trust Companies doing business in the city of Indianapolis (if any of them will consent to act), such leading companies to be determined by the amount of capital and surplus thereof and if such Company so designated shall agree to accept the trust by written instrument duly executed and filed in such Court, then such trustee shall succeed to all the rights and obligations herein given to and imposed upon said Fletcher Savings & Trust Company.
“The same right of change, selection and substitution as to Trust Companies, shall continue so long as said trust shall last, provided, however, that no Trust Company shall be so selected during the period of trust that has not the joint approval of the individual trustee and the Judge of the Marion County Probate Court. Said individual trustee, my said wife, shall not be required to give bond for the faithful performance of her duties as trustee, nor shall she receive any compensation for services as said trustee.
“From the net income derived from said trust estate, said trustees shall pay to my said wife, Helen Orr English, for the term of her natural life, if she so long remains unmarried, or if she shall again remarry, then until she shall so remarry, the sum of Eighteen thousand ($18,000) dollars per year, the same to be paid to her each year in monthly, quarterly or semi-annual installments as she may prefer. Under a trust agreement executed November 10th, 1917, I provided that my wife should receive an income of Six Thousand ($6,000) dollars per year for life from a trust created securing same and it is my intention now in providing this additional income of Eighteen thousand ($18,000) dollars as provided in this clause of my will that she shall have a total annual income from these two sources, *489 and as provided by them, of Twenty-four Thousand ($24,000) dollars per year, and I direct that my trustees shall see to it that the income of Eighteen thousand ($18,000) dollars per year as herein provided, shall be paid to my said wife in advance of all other payments which they may find it necessary to make, but I suggest to my said wife that if at the end of any year she finds that she has not used the full amount of said income of Eighteen thousand ($18,000) dollars per year, that she return said trust fund such portion of said unexpended income as she may deem advisable.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
80 N.E.2d 303, 118 Ind. App. 484, 1948 Ind. App. LEXIS 177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foust-v-william-e-english-foundation-indctapp-1948.