State Land Board v. McCoy

236 P.2d 311, 193 Or. 1, 1951 Ore. LEXIS 272
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 17, 1951
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 236 P.2d 311 (State Land Board v. McCoy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Land Board v. McCoy, 236 P.2d 311, 193 Or. 1, 1951 Ore. LEXIS 272 (Or. 1951).

Opinion

LATOURETTE, J.

The appeal involves the construction of the will of Alice McCoy, deceased, and particularly the eleventh paragraph, which follows:

"All the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, real and personal, of whatever kind, form, or description, I give, devise and bequeath to Frank McCoy, Charles McCoy, and John McCoy, in equal division, share and share alike.”

[3]*3The three residuary legatees were the brothers-in-law of testatrix, being brothers of the deceased husband of testatrix.

Frank McCoy predeceased testatrix, the latter leaving no heirs at law. It is the contention of the two remaining residuary legatees, Charles McCoy and John McCoy, that the share of Frank McCoy under the will devolved upon them, while it is the contention of the state of Oregon that upon the death of Frank McCoy his legacy under the will lapsed, and, since testatrix left no heirs, the lapsed share became vested in the state of Oregon as an escheat. In addition to the residuary clause, the will made eight specific bequests to friends and charitable institutions, including one of $1,000 to Frank McCoy, one of the residuary legatees.

The trial court, in a written opinion, held that, “ * * * the share of the residue of the estate in favor of John McCoy did not lapse and the surviving brothers named therein are entitled to the same, share and share alike.” The state appealed.

The trial court based its opinion on the case of Corbett v. Skaggs, 111 Kan. 380, 207 P. 819, 28 A.L.R. 1230, which reflects the minority view on the subject. In its opinion, it does not refer to, and evidently was not apprised of, Kaser v. Kaser, 68 Or. 153, 137 P. 187, which is decisive of the case and contrary to the holding of the trial court. Respondents, in their brief, state, “WE RESPECTFULLY CALL TO THE COURT’S ATTENTION THAT THIS IS A MATTER OF FIRST IMPRESSION IN OREGON,” and, in referring to the Kaser case, supra, say, “A cursory examination shows that the gift was not of the residue, but the lapse of a specific gift and there being no residuum it descended as intestate property.” Respond-[4]*4exits’ counsel indeed made a cursory examination of the Kaser case, for, had they read it carefully, they would have found that the gift in that case was of the residue and much in point.

In the Kaser case, we find that the testator devised and bequeathed all of his property to his wife for the term of her natural life, and, upon her death, to his seven children, “share and share alike.” The will further provided that in the event any of his children should die, leaving lawful issue, such issue should take the share left to their parents, “ ‘provided, however, that if any of my children should marry and die leaving husband of [or] wife surviving but no issue, it is my will that such surviving husband or wife of my child or children, as the case may be, take nothing by this will.’ ”

In that case, Clarence Kaser died prior to the death of his mother, but after the death of his father, the testator, leaving no lawful issue but leaving a wife surviving him. We held that since there was no present gift to the seven children there was no vesting of title until the death of the widow, and since Clarence Kaser died prior to the vesting of the title in him of the one-seventh interest, and, since he left no issue, his legacy lapsed; that his father, the testator, died intestate as to such one-seventh interest, and that this interest devolved according to the law of intestacy. We said at p. 159:

“* * * A testamentary disposition of personal property to several eolegatees, naming them, is not a gift to a class, and does not create survivorship, so that the share of a legatee dying before the time of distribution will go to those that live after such death, unless survivorship is distinctly expressed [5]*5by the terms of the will, or is clearly implied therefrom: 40 Cyc. 1507.” See In re Buell’s Estate, 167 Or. 295, 298, 117 P. 2d 832, and Scott v. Ford, 52 Or. 288, 97 P. 99.

And again, on pp. 160-161, we said:

“ * * * ‘When the disposition of an aliquot part of the residue itself,’ says a noted author, ‘fails from any cause, that part will not go in augmentation of the remaining parts, as a residue of residue, but will devolve as undisposed of’: 1 Jarman, Wills (6th ed.), 719.”

In the present case, the residuary clause gives the residue to the three McCoys “in equal division, share and share alike”, with no survivorship clause expressed, nor is there anything in the will implying survivorship.

In Miller v. Smith, 179 Or. 214, 170 P. 2d 583, we held that where testatrix left the residue of her estate to certain heirs at law “ ‘equally — share and share alike,’ ” the said heirs took per capita and not per stirpes. We also held in that case that in construing a will the intention of the testator controls, but that such intention must be gained from the legal meaning of the words used.

It is universally held that where there is a gift to a class, in the absence of language indicating a contrary intent, upon the death during the lifetime of testator of one of the class members, his share will accrue in augmentation of the remaining parts, i.e., to the survivors. 57 Am. Jur., Wills, 957, § 1426.

Respondents, in their brief, do not construe the residuary clause as creating a class gift as shown by the following language: “It should be made clear at this point that the respondents have never urged that [6]*6a class gift was made.” They do say that, “* * * from the construction of the will it was the intent of the testatrix to pass the residue of her estate to the named residuary legatees or the survivors of either of them.” If the residuary clause be not construed as a gift to a class, we fail to find anything in the will suggesting intent to pass the residue of her estate to the two survivors of Frank McCoy. Outside of the residuary clause, as hereinbefore pointed out, the testatrix made eight outright specific requests; beyond this, there is nothing. Where then is there any evidence contained in the will of an intent that the residuary survivors should take all?

Respondents urge that there is a presumption that a testator intends to convey his entire estate and not to die intestate as to any portion thereof. This is undoubtedly the rule, but such presumption can have no effect unless there is something contained in the will indicating an intent to create a survivorship. When a will contains language by which there can be gained an implication that survivorship should apply, then, of course, the presumption alluded to strengthens the implication. See 57 Am. Jur., 756, § 1159.

The overwhelming weight of authority sustains the lapsed legacy rule which we have embraced, but we are not unmindful that such rule has been criticized by various courts, text writers and law reviews. It is said in 57 Am. Jur., Wills, 977, § 1453:

“It is, of course, clear that if a residuary gift to a single beneficiary lapses or becomes ineffective, the subject matter thereof will pass to the testator’s heirs as intestate property, and in most cases under a residuary gift to several persons nominatim, or in common, and not as a class, a lapsed portion of the residuary devise or legacy does not, in the [7]

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Related

In Re Estate of McCoy
236 P.2d 311 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1951)

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Bluebook (online)
236 P.2d 311, 193 Or. 1, 1951 Ore. LEXIS 272, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-land-board-v-mccoy-or-1951.