In re Estate of Brown

86 Me. 572
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedJuly 1, 1894
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 86 Me. 572 (In re Estate of Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Estate of Brown, 86 Me. 572 (Me. 1894).

Opinion

Haskell, J.

This is a cause in equity brought by the trustees under the well of John B. Brown, against all of his heirs, asking for construction of certain portions of the will. The defendants, who have attained their majority, and the minors, by their guardian ad litem, being all the parties interested in this cause, appear and answer and join in the prayer of the plaintiffs for the construction sought. The cause is heard upon bill and the answers of the several defendants. The following material facts appear :

John B. Brown executed his will on the 12th of March, 187f, anda codicil thereto, 13th of February, 1879, and died on the 10th of January, 1881. At the time of executing the will and codicil he had three children living, two sons and a daughter, all married and having children, and one grandchild, the daughter of a deceased son, and her mother, the deceased son’s widow, who had then remarried. The granddaughter died before the testator, but after he had made the codicil. The eldest child, a son, has died since the death of the testator. The other two children survive.

The will disposed of the testator’s entire estate. For his wife he made ample provision in lieu of dower and of her distributive share. Numerous legacies and annuities were given to charitable institutions, collateral kindred and others not his heirs.

He devised in fee the Falmouth hotel, an unproductive piece of property, to his two sons, and conveyed, at his death, a parcel of real estate to his daughter.

[574]*574He devised to the sons a block of stores and $100,000 each, less what .they respectively might be owing him, and also $100,000 each upon the death of his wife, in all $200,000 each and a block of stores.

He devised to his daughter $50,000, and also $50,000 and a block of stores and land in trust. Also $100,000 upon the decease of his wife, in trust, to be paid to her at the discretion of his trustees, in all $200,000 and a block of stores and land.

He devised to the widow of his deceased son the income of $20,000 during life, and the principal to her daughter, his grandchild. He also devised to the grandchild a block of stores and a wooden house and land, and upon the decease of his wife $50,000 more, in all $70,000 and a block of stores and land. Showing an intent to give equal shares to his living children, and one third of a share to the grandchild.

He devised to each of his grandchildren living at the time of his decease $5,000.

• Item twenty-sixth. "I give, devise and bequeath all the residue of my estate of every kind and description to . . . my trustees, in trust, to be by them held, invested, preserved, and disposed of as follows :

"The personal estate is to be safely invested in bank stocks or such other securities as will produce the best lawful income. The net dividends, income, rents and interest accruing and received from all this residuary estate, property and fund is to be by said trustees applied, so much thereof as may be required for that purpose, to the payment of the annuities hereinbefore directed to be paid by said trustees; and the balance thereof distributed annually or semi-annually, one tenth part thereof to my granddaughter, Matilda G. Brown, and three tenths part thereof to each of my children, Philip H., John M., and Ellen, during his or her life. At the decease of the last survivor of my children, all the residue of my estate and property is to be conveyed and distributed in equal proportions to and among my grandchildren then living, and to and among the lawful issue of any one deceased and lineal descendants therefrom. The grandchildren taking per capita, and their lineal descendants by right of representation.”

[575]*575Codicil. "I, John B. Brown, named as the testator in the will to which this is annexed, do hereby make this present codicil, which I do order and direct shall be taken as a part of my annexed last will and testament, and which in all respects, excepting wherein it is altered or modified by this codicil, I do hereby re-publish and affirm.

"Second. It is my further will and I do hereby direct that if, during the lifetime of any of my children, any of them should die having a minor child or children unprovided with a suitable support during minoi'ity, my said trustees shall provide for such child or children a suitable support from the income of the general trust fund created in and by the twenty-sixth clause of my will, during the minority of such child or children, but not beyond the lifetime of all my children.”

In apt phrase, the tenor of the will and codicil may be expressed:

A devise of the residue of the estate to trustees during the life of the survivor of the testator’s children, the whole income to be distributed, first, in payment of annuities, second, balance annually, one tenth to grandchild, three tenths each to children during their respective lives. Minors of a deceased child to be supported from the income during minority, but not beyond the term of the trust, remainder over to grandchildren, per capita.

The testator disposes of his entire estate. He creates a trust for an uncertain term, but for a term that is sure to elapse. He distributes the whole income of the trust annually. He first applies it to the payment of annuities, then one tenth of the balance to a grandchild by name, not during its life, but during the life of the survivor of his children, for, when that event happens, the trust is to cease, and this grandchild, if living, takes an equal share with the other grandchildren in the remainder. Its share although of uncertain amount, stands like the annuities, to be paid from the income, and may properly enough be classed with them. Both, so far as the words of the devise show, might continue beyond the term of the trust. The former, the annuities, if the annuitants survive all the children of [576]*576the testator, must be provided for, although the will makes no provision for such contingency. But, the share to the grandchild, were it then living, would be adeemed by the manifest intent of the testator, for it then would share in the principal fund, from the income of which it had previously received its annual share. But the grandchild having died before the testator without issue, its annual share of income, like an expired annuity, ceased to be a charge upon the whole income, thereby increasing the remainder to be divided under the terms of the will. The testator, perceiving that, perchance, some minor grandchild might need support by reason of the death of one of his children, whose share of income was limited to its life, made provision for such contingency by a carefully drawn codicil. In it, not a word is said about the shares specifically devised to his children and to the grandchild, undoubtedly because he supposed such share of income would fall into the balance that he had directed to be distributed annually. Moreover, the grandchild died before he did, and had he supposed that it would be thought that its share was not disposed of by the will, it is incredible that he would not only have made provision for that condition of affairs, but also for the contingency sure to come, some child’s decease before the others.

What then is the situation at the death of the testator? A trust had been created to continue during the life of the survivor of his three living children. The income was to be distributed annually.

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Related

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Bluebook (online)
86 Me. 572, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-estate-of-brown-me-1894.