Hall v. Methodist Hospital

214 Cal. App. 2d 812, 29 Cal. Rptr. 814, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2680
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 8, 1963
DocketCiv. No. 26404
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 214 Cal. App. 2d 812 (Hall v. Methodist Hospital) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hall v. Methodist Hospital, 214 Cal. App. 2d 812, 29 Cal. Rptr. 814, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2680 (Cal. Ct. App. 1963).

Opinion

HERNDON, J.

The Methodist Hospital of Southern California and the Southern California School of Theology, hereinafter referred to as the “Methodist Hospital” and the “School of Theology,” respectively, have taken separate appeals from certain portions of the order settling the twentieth and final account of the trustee and ordering distribution of the trust created by the will, the provisions of which are the subject of the arguments of the parties herein.

Ellen M. Hill died on November 16, 1939, and her will dated November 2, 1938, was duly admitted to probate. The decree of distribution, dated August 27, 1941, which created the testamentary trust here involved, provided in part as follows :

“In the year nineteen hundred sixty (1960) the said trust estate is to be terminated and the principal distributed, one-eighth (%) to the University of Southern California for the School of Religion or if there is no such school then to the Southern California Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to be divided equally for missions, Methodist Hospital in Los Angeles, Calif, or if none such hospital belongs to the Methodist Church in Los Angeles then to the Methodist Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.”

The objection of the Methodist Hospital was based upon the allegation “that the University of Southern California, referred to in the will of said deceased, does not now have a School of Religion, and that the School of Religion referred to in the will of said Deceased, is no longer related to, af[815]*815filiated with, or a part o£ the University of Southern California.”

The School of Theology, on the other hand, alleged as follows: “That Southern California School of Theology is the same school formerly known as the School of Religion of the University of Southern California prior to September 1, 1956, at which time said School of Religion was discontinued as a part of the University of Southern California.

‘' That Southern California School of Theology is the School of Religion intended by the testatrix, Ellen M. Hill, under her will and by the decree of distribution made pursuant thereto, to be the beneficiary of one-eighth (%) of said trust estate under the provisions of her will and the decree of distribution quoted above; that by the use of the words ‘the School of Religion’ therein, the testatrix intended to designate the School of Religion which existed on the date of her will, to-wit, November 2, 1938, and that existed on the date of the decree of distribution herein establishing said trust on August 27,1941, which is now Southern California School of Theology, the claimant herein.

“That the testatrix intended, by the terms of her will, and it is intended by the decree of distribution herein, made pursuant thereto, that one-eighth (%) of the trust estate on termination of the trust in the year 1960 go to ‘the School of Religion’ for the purpose of training ministers for religious leadership in churches.

“That claimant herein, Southern California School of Theology, is informed and believes, and basing its allegations upon such information and belief alleges that there was no School of Religion at the University of Southern California in the year 1960, nor does one exist at the present time, although there is a Department of Religion of the Graduate School of the University of Southern California which is called ‘ School of Religion’. Southern California School of Theology alleges that there is no connection existing between the School of Religion of the University of Southern California as such school existed at the date of the will of the testatrix, towit, November 2,1938, and on the date of the decree of distribution herein on August 27, 1941, and the present Department of Religion of the University of Southern California, which is presently named ‘School of Religion.’

“That by virtue of the above quoted provision of said decree of distribution, as quoted in paragraph IV above, and [816]*816by reason of law, this claimant, Southern California School of Theology, claims one-eighth (%) of said trust estate.”

Notwithstanding that the propositions of law hereinafter discussed have been stated and applied in a great many decisions, appellants’ contentions are such as to necessitate their repetition. Although wills are to be construed in accordance with the testator’s intent, it is the intent expressed by the words of the will itself which must be given effect rather than some undisclosed purpose or intent that may have existed in the mind of the testator. (Estate of Kincaid, 174 Cal.App.2d 84, 88 [344 P.2d 85]; Estate of Maxwell, 158 Cal.App.2d 544, 548 [322 P.2d 1018]; and Estate of Doane, 190 Cal. 412, 415 [213 P. 52].)

In other words, a court must give effect to the language of the will, and no intention should be attributed to a testator which cannot reasonably be drawn from the language of the document itself. (Estate of Raymond, 96 Cal.App.2d 808, 813-814 [216 P.2d 515]; and Estate of Somerville, 38 Cal. App.2d 463, 468 [101 P.2d 533].) It is to be presumed that a testator did not intend that which he might have said but did not say in the will. (Estate of Layton, 217 Cal. 451, 458 [19 P.2 d 793].) If the words of the will are clear and unambiguous, the testator’s intention is to be derived solely therefrom. (Estate of Owens, 62 Cal.App.2d 772, 774 [145 P.2d 376]; In re Walkerly, 108 Cal. 627, 659 [41 P. 772, 49 Am.St.Rep. 97]; Gore v. Bingaman, 29 Cal.App.2d 460, 469 [95 P.2d 172]; and Estate of Willson, 171 Cal. 449, 456 [153 P. 927].)

We think it beyond reasonable debate that it appears from a reading of the above quoted provisions of the instant will that there is nothing uncertain, doubtful or ambiguous in the terms thereof. It states in clear and concise language that upon distribution one-eighth of the trust estate is to go to the University of Southern California. It further indicates very clearly that among the many “schools” that form a part of the named university, the testator intended that this bequest was being made “for the School of Religion.” No amount of grammatical gymnastics could possibly twist this unambiguous language into a bequest to the “School of Religion” considered as a separate and distinct entity completely isolated from the named university of which it was but an integral part.

The language following this clear bequest establishes a condition subsequent, and provides that if the donee university [817]*817should no longer have a school of religion at the time the trust estate is to be distributed, then the bequest shall go to the Southern California Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to be divided by it in a certain prescribed fashion. Neither appellant contends that the named university no longer exists or that there is any latent ambiguity as to its identity.

In its objections, appellant Methodist Hospital alleges that the university “does not now have a School of Eeligion, . .

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Related

Estate of Hill
214 Cal. App. 2d 812 (California Court of Appeal, 1963)

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Bluebook (online)
214 Cal. App. 2d 812, 29 Cal. Rptr. 814, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2680, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hall-v-methodist-hospital-calctapp-1963.