Wachovia Bank & Trust Co. v. Holt

Supreme Court of North Carolina

Wachovia Bank & Trust Co. v. Holt

2 S.E.2d 894, 215 N.C. 644, 1939 N.C. LEXIS 329

DecidedMay 24, 1939

StatusPublished

This text of 2 S.E.2d 894 (Wachovia Bank & Trust Co. v. Holt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Wachovia Bank & Trust Co. v. Holt, 2 S.E.2d 894, 215 N.C. 644, 1939 N.C. LEXIS 329 (N.C. 1939).

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Opinion

WinboeNE, J.

Did the court in the judgment below properly construe the third item of the will of William E. Holt? Apparently out of abundance of caution, plaintiff in fiduciary capacity, and the guardian ad litem representing minors and unborn persons who may become interested in the estate, present this question. We are of opinion that the judgment follows the manifest intent of the testator as clearly expressed in the words used by him. The language of the will is plain English, unequivocal, and unambiguous, and there is no occasion for judicial interpretation. Wooten v. Hobbs, 170 N. C., 211, 86 S. E., 811; Scales v. Barringer, 192 N. C., 94, 133 S. E., 410; Williams v. Best, 195 N. C., 324, 142 S. E., 2; Bell v. Gillam, 200 N. C., 411, 157 S. E., 60.

Appellants contend that the will shows an intention of William E. Holt to keep his estate in his own blood stream. As was stated by Adams, J., in Power Co. v. Haywood, 186 N. C., 313, 119 S. E., 500, in speaking to a similar factual situation, “We are not permitted to substitute a presumed intention which is at variance with the obvious meaning of the language employed.”

Affirmed.

ScheNCK, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.

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WinboeNE, J.

Did the court in the judgment below properly construe the third item of the will of William E. Holt? Apparently out of abundance of caution, plaintiff in fiduciary capacity, and the guardian ad litem representing minors and unborn persons who may become interested in the estate, present this question. We are of opinion that the judgment follows the manifest intent of the testator as clearly expressed in the words used by him. The language of the will is plain English, unequivocal, and unambiguous, and there is no occasion for judicial interpretation. Wooten v. Hobbs, 170 N. C., 211, 86 S. E., 811; Scales v. Barringer, 192 N. C., 94, 133 S. E., 410; Williams v. Best, 195 N. C., 324, 142 S. E., 2; Bell v. Gillam, 200 N. C., 411, 157 S. E., 60.

Appellants contend that the will shows an intention of William E. Holt to keep his estate in his own blood stream. As was stated by Adams, J., in Power Co. v. Haywood, 186 N. C., 313, 119 S. E., 500, in speaking to a similar factual situation, “We are not permitted to substitute a presumed intention which is at variance with the obvious meaning of the language employed.”

Affirmed.

ScheNCK, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.

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2 S.E.2d 894, 215 N.C. 644, 1939 N.C. LEXIS 329, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wachovia-bank-trust-co-v-holt-nc-1939.

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