In re the Construction of the Will of Rosenthal

204 Misc. 432, 123 N.Y.S.2d 326, 1953 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1969
CourtNew York Surrogate's Court
DecidedMay 8, 1953
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 204 Misc. 432 (In re the Construction of the Will of Rosenthal) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Surrogate's Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re the Construction of the Will of Rosenthal, 204 Misc. 432, 123 N.Y.S.2d 326, 1953 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1969 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1953).

Opinion

Collins, S.

The petitioner, Jean L. Tanburn, who will attain the age of twenty-one years on May 24, 1953, seeks a construction of certain provisions of the will of the testator, who was her great-grandfather. The will was admitted to probate in this court on May 26, 1938.

Broadly, the testator’s will evinces a pattern to exclude from participation in his property descendants of his who marry non-Jews, and the non-Jewish spouses of such descendants.

Under the will, the testator’s grandson, Stephen A. Tanburn, who was the petitioner’s father, and who died on October 22, 1952, was granted certain powers of appointment. The petitioner is an appointee designated by her father’s will.

A direct descendant of the testator, as defined in his will, and of the Jewish faith and blood, the petitioner recently became affianced to a person not born in the Jewish faith and not of Jewish blood. He is a reserve officer in the Army of the United States, has received orders to report for active service in June, 1953, and petitioner avers that it is the intention of the couple to marry prior to that date.

By reason of her engagement and contemplated marriage, the petitioner applies for a construction of Article Twelfth of the will to obtain a determination of her right to inherit as an appointee under the will of her father upon the occurrence of her contemplated marriage.

A motion to dismiss the petition as premature was denied.

The pivotal Article Twelfth is as follows:

“ Twelfth: Anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding, all legacies and devises and all powers of appointment or disposition under this my Last Will and Testament, given, devised and bequeathed to any child of mine or to any descendant of mine, are given, devised and bequeathed subject to the following express condition, that is to say:
In case any child or descendant of mine shall at the time of my death be married or shall thereafter marry, and the spouse of such child or descendant of mine shall be a person who was not born in the Jewish faith and who shall not be of Jewish blood, then upon my death if such marriage shall have [434]*434occurred prior thereto, or if such marriage shall occur after my death then upon such marriage, all legacies and devises whether of income or of principal to such child or descendant of mine so marrying, and all powers of appointment or of disposition given, devised and bequeathed to such child or descendant of mine so marrying, shall be cancelled, annulled and revoked and such legacies and/or devises whether of principal or income shall upon my death if such marriage shall occur prior to my death, or upon such marriage if such marriage shall have occurred after my death, be disposed of as though such child or descendant of mine had died before me if such marriage shall have occurred prior to my death, or had died at the time of such marriage if such marriage shall occur after my death, without power to appoint or dispose of any of the income or principal of my estate; and provided further that any husband and/or wife, who shall not have been born in the Jewish faith and who shall not be of Jewish blood, of any such child or descendant of mine and any descendant of mine who shall not have been born in the Jewish faith and who shall not be of Jewish blood shall not be entitled to take any share or interest in the principal and/or income of my estate either as legatee, devisee, appointee, heir at law or next of kin, distributee or otherwise; and wherever upon the death of any child or descendant of mine there is a gift over of any of the income or principal of my estate to any child or descendant of mine who shall be married at my death or who shall thereafter marry, and the spouse of such child or descendant shall not be a person who was both born in the Jewish faith and of Jewish blood, then the legacy or devise to such child or descenant shall be and the same hereby is cancelled, annulled and revoked and such legacy or devise shall be given over and I give, devise and bequeath the same to the person or persons who would be entitled thereto in case the said child or descendant of mine had died before me, if such child or descendant shall be married at my death, or at the time of such marriage in case such marriage shall occur after my death; and wherever in my Will there is a gift over to a class of persons, some of whom were born in the Jewish faith and are of Jewish blood and some of whom are not of said faith and blood, distribution shall be made only to those members of the class who are of such faith and blood in the same manner as though all of the members of such class who were not born in the Jewish faith and who are not of Jewish blood had been dead at the time of the taking effect of the said gift over, and in case no mem[435]*435her of the class is of such faith and blood the said gift over shall continue to pass until it vests in those members of a class who were born in the Jewish faith and who are of Jewish blood; and I give, devise and bequeath the same accordingly; provided further, that the conclusion of my Executors and/or Trustees from time to time acting as such as to whether any legatee and/or devisee under this my Last Will and Testament was born in the Jewish faith and is of Jewish blood shall be conclusive and binding upon all persons interested in my estate and shall not be subject to review by any court or other authority whatsoever. Wherever I have herein referred to ‘ the Jewish faith ’ each such reference shall mean the Jewish faith as it may at any time and from time to time in any form be practised.
“It is my intention for the purposes of this Will that the marriage of my grandson Alfred S. Meyer heretofore dissolved by decree of the Second Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, in and for the County of Washoe, on the 24th day of December, 1934 shall not be considered a marriage, irrespective of whether said divorce is legal or not.”

Article Eighth I and II of the testator’s will, “ subject to the conditions and provisions ” of Article Twelfth, gives, devises and bequeaths the residuary portion of the estate to trustees who are directed to divide the residuary estate into two equal parts, each to be held as a separate trust fund. The first of the trusts is to continue during the lives of the testator’s daughter, Rhea Sittenfield (now Rhea Hoffheimer) and her son, Stephen A. Tanburn, the petitioner’s father. The trust directs the trustees to pay over substantially half of the income to Mrs. Hoffheimer, and the other half to Mr. Tanburn during their respective lives. Upon Mr. Tanburn’s death, the portion of the income payable to him is directed to be paid over to persons appointed by him in his last will and testament. He was also given a power of appointment with respect to all of the principal of this trust upon its termination.

Although Mr. Tanburn is dead, his mother, Mrs. Hoffheimer, is alive, and the trust continues. By Mr. Tanburn’s will he exercised the powers of appointment in such a manner that all of the income from this first trust in excess of the amount appointed to Mr. Tanburn’s widow (petitioner’s mother) is payable to the petitioner. Petitioner estimates that she, if not disqualified, will be entitled to receive income of about $6,500 a year as a result of this appointment. With respect to the principal of this trust presently valued at $675,000, Mr. Tan-[436]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In re Estate of Feinberg
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2008

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
204 Misc. 432, 123 N.Y.S.2d 326, 1953 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1969, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-construction-of-the-will-of-rosenthal-nysurct-1953.