McOwen Estate

76 Pa. D. & C. 52, 1951 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 252
CourtPennsylvania Orphans' Court, Montgomery County
DecidedApril 30, 1951
Docketno. 53,069
StatusPublished

This text of 76 Pa. D. & C. 52 (McOwen Estate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Orphans' Court, Montgomery County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McOwen Estate, 76 Pa. D. & C. 52, 1951 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 252 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1951).

Opinion

Forrest, J.

(thirty-eighth judicial district), specially presiding,

— Testatrix died on August 18, 1950. By her will testatrix provided, inter alia, as follows:

“Seventh : I give devise and bequeath all the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, real, personal and mixed, of whatsoever kind and wheresoever the same may be, to the following persons and in the following amounts and proportions, that is to say:
“ (a) I direct my Executors to apply a sum of money equal to one forty-fifth (l/45th) of my residuary estate to the purchase of a cash refund annuity which shall be payable to Margaret Cox Ritschy, the widow of my deceased brother, Donald P. Ritschy, for and during the term of her life, or until her remarriage, with provisions that any cash refund or reversionary interest shall be payable to the issue of Norman J. Greene, Frederick M. Greene and Elizabeth M. Barhite, in equal shares, per stirpes.
“(b) I direct my Executors to apply a sum of money equal to one-forty-fifth (l/45th) of my residuary estate to the purchase of a cash refund annuity which shall be payable to Mary Carr if she shall be in my employ at the time of my decease, for and during the term of her life, with provisions that any cash refund or reversionary interest shall be payable to the issue [54]*54of Norman J. Greene, Frederick M. Greene and Elizabeth M. Barhite, in equal shares, per stirpes.
“(c) To Regina E. Schweikart, my Secretary, three forty-fifths (3/45) of my residuary estate, absolutely.
“(d) To Marvin R. Briggs, my nephew, three forty-fifths (3/45) of my residuary estate, absolutely.
“(e) To Jessie R. Heberer, my sister, one-half of the remainder of my residuary estate, absolutely.
“(f) To The United States Trust Company, of the City of New York and Elizabeth Briggs Prickett, and, upon her death, resignation or inability to act, Todd C. Tiebout, of the City of New York, and, upon his death, resignation or inability to act, the then eldest child, and in succession, of said Elizabeth Briggs Prickett, one-half (%) of the remainder of my residuary estate. In Trust, to take, receive and hold the same, and to invest, reinvest and keep the same invested, and to collect and receive the income therefrom, and, after the payment out of the said income of all proper costs and charges, to pay and distribute the net income, and, as well, to pay, convey, transfer and assign the corpus thereof, to and among the following persons, in the amounts and at the times following, that is to say:
“(f-1) To pay the said net income at convenient periods in each year to my said niece, Elizabeth Briggs Prickett, for and during the term of her natural life.” The codicil provides:
“I, Louise R. McOwen, of Overbrook, in the County of Montgomery, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, being of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding, do hereby make, publish and declare this to be a codicil to my last will and testament dated the First day of June, 1949.
“First: I hereby revoke subparagraph ‘(b)’ of the seventh paragraph of my said will, by the terms of [55]*55which I direct the purchase of a certain annuity for the benefit of Mary Carr.
“Second: I hereby make the following provision which shall be designated as sub-paragraph (e) of the fifth paragraph of my said will, that is to say:
“I give and devise the sum of Twenty-five thousand Dollars ($25,000) to Mary Carr if she shall be in my employ at the time of my decease, absolutely.”

The question is submitted for determination as to the proper manner of distribution of the income which the executors have collected during the administration of the estate and whether the whole of this income is payable in equal shares solely to those persons named in paragraphs (e) and (f), aforesaid, to the exclusion of the forty-fifths interests named in preceding paragraphs, or whether all interests share in such income in accordance with the fractional amounts of principal bequeathed to each.

At first blush it would appear that this question is controlled by section 753 of the Fiduciaries Act of April 18, 1949, P. L. 512, 20 PS §320.101 et seq., which provides, inter alia:

“(d) Residuary legacy or devise. All income from real and personal estate earned during the period of administration and not payable to others shall be distributed pro rata among the income beneficiaries of any trust created out of the residuary estate and the other persons entitled to the residuary estate.” (Italics supplied.)

What is meant by the “residuary estate” in the above? “The residue of an estate is that which is left after the gifts specified or designated have been paid or satisfied”: Yeisley Estate, 358 Pa. 200, 202 (1948). “ ‘The residue’ of a man’s estate, in testamentary language, means whatever is not specifically devised or bequeathed, and in whatever part of a will it may happen to be found it ought to have that meaning, unless the whole will taken together shows clearly that it was [56]*56not so intended”: Carson’s Estate, 130 Pa. Superior Ct. 133, 140 (1938).

If there were but one “residuary estate” here, we would have no trouble in deciding that all of the beneficiaries in the residue estate are entitled to their proportionate part of the income, as for example, if all residuary legatees were to receive a certain definite number of forty-fifths. However, here we have two residuary estates, one of which may be called the tentative one out of which the forty-fifths were taken and the balance might be called the ultimate. Such a residuary estate has been referred to as primary, main, first or tentative residue as opposed to secondary or ultimate residue or a residue within a residue. In Carson’s Estate, supra, the court said, at page 139:

“It will be observed that we are in fact dealing with a residue of a residue. The testator, after providing for payment of his debts and funeral expenses, payment of a cash sum to his wife for immediate needs and a devise to her of real estate for life, and bequests to servants, gave all the rest, residue and remainder of his estate to his executors as trustees. That created the main or first residuary estate. Then after providing primarily for the payment of an annual sum to his wife from the primary residue in preference to all other provisions of his will and making provisions for his next of kin, he set up an elaborate plan for the disposition of the remaining income for the founding and maintenance of The Carson College for Orphan Girls, giving the residue of the main or first residue for the use of that college.
“We deem the provisions in the fifth and sixth paragraphs of the will creating a residue within a residue a plain declaration by the testator in language free from ambiguity that any part of the main residuary estate not theretofore disposed of should go to Carson College. In the three cases with which we are dealing [57]*57the nephew and nieces received income for their respective lives but died without issue to survive them. Consequently, when the bequest of principal failed, these sums became a part of the second residuary estate and passed to the college.” See also Fetter Estate, 152 Pa. Superior Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
76 Pa. D. & C. 52, 1951 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 252, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcowen-estate-paorphctmontgo-1951.