Turner v. Gibb

48 N.J. Eq. 526
CourtNew Jersey Court of Chancery
DecidedMay 15, 1891
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 48 N.J. Eq. 526 (Turner v. Gibb) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Court of Chancery primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Turner v. Gibb, 48 N.J. Eq. 526 (N.J. Ct. App. 1891).

Opinion

Greek, V. C.

Jeanette Carr, late of Atlantic City, in this state, died in February, 1887, leaving a last will and testament dated November, A. D. 1882, substantially as follows:

“Item, First. I order and direct that all my just debts and funeral expenses 'be fully paid and satisfied, as soon as conveniently may be after my.decease, ■out of the personal property and real estate mentioned in the second item of this my will.
“Item Second. I give, devise and bequeath unto my son Robert B. Gibb my liouse and lot on the southwest corner of Race and Utah streets, being No. 714 Race street, in the city of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, together with all the furniture, fixtures and stock of liquors therein, to him and his heirs forever, subject and charged, however, with the payment of my just debts :and funeral expenses.”

Item third is a devise to her. granddaughter Hannah Carr •Gibb, daughter of her son Alexander Gibb, of two tracts of land situate in Egg Harbor township, Atlantic county, in this state, •describing them so that they can be readily identified.

The fourth and fifth items contain general pecuniary legacies -to her grandchildren, by name, amounting in the aggregate to .$2,020.

Item sixth is as follows :

“ I give, devise and bequeath unto my son Alexander Gibb all the rest and residue of my estate, real, personal and mixed, whatsoever and wheresoever •situated, during the term of his natural life, and after his death I give, devise .and bequeath the same to my granddaughter Hannah Carr Gibb, daughter of my son Alexander Gibb, to her and her heirs and assigns forever.”

[528]*528The will was admitted to probate March 14th,, 1887, by the-surrogate of the county of Atlantic in this state, and letters testamentary were issued thereon to Richard H. Turner and Harry L. Slape, the executors named therein, who took upon themselves-the execution of the said will.

Harry L. Slape, one of the executors, died in May, 1887, leaving the complainant in this suit, the surviving executor.

The personal estate, as it appears by the «inventory filed by the ■ executors, amounts to the sum of $1,057.47.

The testatrix, in addition to the real estate devised by the-second and third clauses of her will, died seized of four other-tracts of land and real estate in Atlantic county, which are described in the bill, and which were not in anywise devised by the-testatrix except by the sixth item of her will. These tracts were-conveyed to testatrix as follows: Eirst, by Hannah Beebe and husband, October 26th, 1881; second, by George Lewis and wife, October 18th, 1882; third, by James W. Moore and wife, January 25th, 1884, and, fourth, by Ezra Johnson and wife, January 17th, 1885, as appears by the admission of counsel on file.

This bill is filed by the surviving executor seeking to charge-the payment of the general pecuniary legacies given to the grandchildren upon the real estate devised by the residuary clause, in ■ consequence of the deficiency of personal estate to meet the same..

This will was made in 1882 and the testatrix died in 1887. The parties have not availed themselves of the privilege of showing by parol evidence the nature, situation and amounts of' testatrix’s property at the time of making the will, as they were • entitled to do (Leigh v. Savidge, 1 McCart. 124; Johnson v. Poulson, 5 Stew. Eq. 390), but both sides have contented themselves with the result as fixed by the inventory filed by the.executors.

The complainant claims that the payment of these legacies is • charged upon the real estate not devised other than by the sixth item, by invoking the rule stated in Hawkins on Wills 294.

“If legacies are given generally and the residue of the real and-personal.! estate is afterwards given in one mass, legacies are a charge on the residuary.* real as well as the personal estate.”

[529]*529Any question as to the rule which may have existed in this state must be considered as set at rest by the decision of the court of errors and appeals in the case of Corwine v. Corwine, 9 C. E. Gr. 579, as explained in Johnson v. Poulson, 5 Stew. Eq. 390, the result of which may be thus stated, viz., when pecuniary legacies are first given, and afterwards the residue of the estate, real and personal, if the personal estate is insufficient therefor, the intention of the testatrix to have the legacies payable out of the real estate, appears by necessary implication from the words “ residue ” or u remainder,” when applied to the two kinds of property combined, unless there are other words, or provisions in the will, which are inconsistent with the existence of such intention on the part of the testatrix. In other words, that such inference arises from the use of these words under such circumstances, and will be given that effect unless such construction is restrained or avoided by other words or provisions in the will. Stevens v. Flower, 1 Dick. Ch. Rep. 340; Merritt v. Merritt, 3 Dick. Ch. Rep. 1. This is practically the English rule as stated in Hawkins, supra, and declared in the case of Greville v. Browne, 7 H. L. Cas. 689. Most of the English authorities were cited in the case of Corwine v. Corwine, supra. The principle has also been enforced in Gyett v. Williams, 2 Johns. & H. 429; Carroll v. Hargrave, 5 Ir. R. Eq. 123; Gainsford v. Dunn, L. R. (17 Eq. Cas.) 405; Brooke v. Rooke, L. R. (3 Ch. Div.) 630; In re Bellis’s Trusts, L. R. (5 Ch. Div.) 504; Bray v. Stevens, L. R. (12 Ch. Div.) 162; Elliott v. Dearsley, L. R. (16 Ch. Div.) 322; Hays v. Jackson, 6 Mass. 149; Wilcox v. Wilcox, 13 Allen 252; Gallagher’s Appeal, 48 Pa. St. 122; Robinson v. McIver, 63 N. C. 649. The rule obtains whether interests in lands have already been given by the will or not. Bench v. Biles, 4 Madd. 187; Francis v. Clemow, Kay 435; Wheeler v. Howell, 3 Kay & J. 198; Miller v. Sandford, 4 Stew. Eq. 427; Lewis v. Darling, 16 How. (U. S.) 1; Hassanclever v. Tucker, 2 Binn. 525; Moore v. Beckwith, 14 Ohio St. 135.

The courts of New York do not follow the English decisions, and infer an intent to charge legacies on real estate, from a blend[530]*530ing of the real and personal property in a residuary clause as the rest and residue of testator’s estate, but only give it such effect, if it is made to appear by extrinsic circumstances, such as may, under the rules of law, be resorted to in the interpretation of written instruments, that it was the testator’s intention that the legacies should be charged on the land. Brill v. Wright, 112 N. Y. 129; Hoyt v. Hoyt, 85 N. Y. 142; Scott v. Stebbins, 91 N. Y. 605; Wiltsie v. Shaw, 100 N. Y. 191; McCorn v. McCorn, 100 N. Y. 511; In re Rochester, 110 N. Y. 159.

The fact that the testator must have known that the personal estate was not sufficient to pay all the legacies is to be considered in ascertaining his intention to charge them on the lands, and raises a strong presumption that such was his purpose.

It is said in the case of Hoyt v. Hoyt, 85 N. Y. 142: “

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Bluebook (online)
48 N.J. Eq. 526, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/turner-v-gibb-njch-1891.