In re the Estate of Tuck

165 Misc. 359, 300 N.Y.S. 1132, 1937 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1246
New York Surrogate's Court·Decided November 13, 1937·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

Foley, S.

A preliminary question of construction in this accounting proceeding has been determined by the surrogate. (Matter of Tuck, 165 Misc. 346.) There remains for disposition the determination as to who is entitled to certain income of the residuary trust.

The pertinent paragraphs of the will provide as follows:

Seventh. All the rest and residue of my property of every kind and description, real, personal and mixed, now owned by me or that may be owned by me at the time of my death, I give to my said Trustees in trust, to receive the rents, income and profits thereof until the death of Elenore B. Tuck, to pay in quarterly instalments; two-fifths (2/5) of such rents, income and profits to my wife, Elenore B. Tuck and one-fifth each to my children, Shirley R. Tuck, Henry W. Tuck and Rosamond T. Skillin.

“ In case Nellie, wife of my son Shirley R. survives him, his fifth share of the income of my estate is to be paid her as long as she remains unmarried. In case James H. Skillin, husband of my daughter Rosamond survives her, her fifth share of the income of my estate is to be paid him as long as he remains unmarried.

“ Eighth. On the death of my wife, Elenore B. Tuck, I give, devise and bequeath my entire estate in trust to the New York Security & Trust Company; the income of said estate (except as much thereof as is provided for in Section 7, to be paid to Nellie Tuck and James H. Skillin), to be paid quarterly, share and share alike to such of my children as shall at that time, namely immediately upon the death of my wife, Elenore B. Tuck, be living, and to the descendants then living of such children of mine as shall have died before said date; such descendants to take the share the parent would have received had he or she then been living. * * *

Ninth. It has been my intention by devises and bequeaths hereinbefore made, to dispose of all my property. If for any reason whatsoever I have not done so, I direct that any property not so disposed of, shall be divided equally among my children and the descendants of any children who shall not survive me; such descendants to take the share their parent would have taken if it had survived me.”

An alternative provision in paragraph eighth bequeathed the entire residue on the death of the testator’s wife to certain charitable institutions in the contingency that she survive all of his children and their descendants.

The testator’s three children and his widow survived him. The trust is still in existence. His son Shirley has since died. The testator’s daughter Rosamond received one-fifth of the income of the trust until her death on February 6, 1932, and thereafter such [362]*362income was paid by the trustees to her husband, James H. Skillin, until his remarriage on April 26, 1933. That event, under the will, terminated his right to income. As a result of his remarriage the present controversy arose. The trustees now hold one-fifth of the income of the residuary trust accumulated since his remarriage, and they seek a determination as to the person or persons entitled to such balance and to future income in that fractional share.

The will was apparently prepared by the testator himself rather than by an experienced lawyer. At least, no lawyer has come forward to claim its parentage nor has the draftsman been discovered.

There is no language in the will which in express terms operates to distribute this one-fifth share of the income. The following questions are, therefore, presented: Did it pass under the provisions of paragraph ninth to the three children who survived the testator? Or did it pass by virtue of section 63 of the Real Property Law to the presumptive owner or owners of the next eventual estate?

The testator’s daughter Rosamond T. Skillin and his son Shirley R. Tuck died without issue. In their wills they designated their respective spouses as sole residuary legatees. The executors of their estates contend that the income in dispute passed as undisposed of property to the children of the testator living at his death or to the representatives of their estates, under the provisions of paragraph ninth of the will. If their contentions are correct, James R. Skillin, the husband of Rosamond, and Mathilda Tuck, the widow of Shirley, would become entitled as such sole residuary legatees to one-third each of such one-fifth income during the lifetime of the widow. Henry Tuck, the surviving son, would become entitled to the remaining one-third. Under my interpretation of the testator’s express intent these contentions must be overruled.

I am of the opinion that there was a complete and valid disposition of the entire fund, including the one-fifth share of the income previously paid to James H. Skillin, under the language of paragraphs seventh and eighth and under the pertinent provisions of law affecting the devolution of property in effect at the date of the death of the testator.

The purposes of the testator are plainly apparent in the disposition of his residuary estate. They were (a) a division of the income into fifths; (b) what might be termed the primary trusts were measured in general by the life of the widow; (c) upon her death a new disposition was made of the income to the children surviving her or to the descendants of those who predeceased her; (d) no limit of time was fixed for the payment of suchjncome; no specific [363]*363condition was imposed that the income should be paid to such surviving children or descendants for the period of their lives or for any other period; (e) there was expressly carved out of these secondary gifts by the matter within the parentheses in paragraph eighth, the income benefits for the widow of Shirley and the husband of Rosamond until each died or remarried; the income directed to be paid to them was clearly intended to continue until the happening of either of these events, even after the death of the widow; the income payable to the designated widow of Shirley, therefore, continues until her death or remarriage, whether such events occur before or after the date of death of the widow of the testator; (f) knowledge of those provisions of the law which dealt with the mode of payment of undisposed of income must be imputed to the testator and read into the will as a part of his intent. Additional support for the interpretation adopted by the surrogate is found in the general demonstrated purpose of the testator to confine as far as possible the distribution of his property to the relations of his blood.

Finally, when paragraphs seventh and eighth are considered in the light of the analysis just made, as compared with paragraph ninth, the testator’s plan of disposition becomes even clearer. In my opinion, the so-called catch-all provisions of paragraph ninth, by which he gave his undisposed of property to his surviving cídldren, were intended by the testator to cover a lapse or failure to dispose of principal items or outright parts of his estate, rather than dispositions of income which had failed during the trust period. They never became effective to interfere with the harmonious and complete plan of distribution contained in paragraphs seventh and eighth.

It is argued that the provisions of paragraph ninth must be read into paragraph eighth so as to vest the ultimate remainder of the residuary fund in the children who survived the testator, or in the estates of those who have died. It is urged that there was a gift of income but not of principal.

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In re the Estate of Tuck, 165 Misc. 359, 300 N.Y.S. 1132, 1937 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1246 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1937).

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