Wolstenholme Estate

26 Pa. D. & C.2d 615, 1962 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 276
CourtPennsylvania Orphans' Court, Philadelphia County
DecidedApril 16, 1962
Docketno. 2488 of 1937
StatusPublished

This text of 26 Pa. D. & C.2d 615 (Wolstenholme Estate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Orphans' Court, Philadelphia County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wolstenholme Estate, 26 Pa. D. & C.2d 615, 1962 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 276 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1962).

Opinion

Bolger, J.,

The fund involved is the principal of the trust for the life of Florence Hickman, testatrix’ daughter, who died January 12, 1961, and is the last of three funds established for the testatrix’ surviving children, the other two funds having been distributed.

At the audit, two grandchildren of the testatrix, Alfred Hickman, son of Florence Hickman, and Adelaide Wolstenholme, daughter of Alfred Wolstenholme, claimed the entire fund to the exclusion of three great-grandchildren, two of whom, Benjamin R. Caskey, Jr., and Barry Hickman Caskey are children of Muriel Caskey, who was a daughter of Florence Hickman and sister of Alfred Hickman and died at age 30 before her mother, and Ronald DuBree, son of Walter DuBree, grandson of Emily DuBree Allen, a daughter of the testatrix, who predeceased testatrix.

[617]*617The learned auditing judge, in a studied and comprehensive opinion, awarded the fund in four equal shares, one each to Alfred Hickman and to Adelaide Wolstenholme, one to the Caskey children equally, and the fourth to Ronald DuBree.

Alfred Hickman has filed exceptions to these awards. Adelaide Wolstenholme has not joined in the exceptions.

The adjudication also awarded $10,000 compensation to Alfred Hickman, substituted trustee. Exceptions to this award have been filed by the accountant who claimed $12,500, and also by the other beneficiaries, who asserted the allowance is excessive.

After disposing of personal effects, including jewelry and furniture, two $5,000 pecuniary legacies and directing the sale of her residence, testatrix’s residual plan was the establishment of trusts for her three children equally for life and, upon their deaths, income per capita to her grandchildren until age 35, including Walter Elwood DuBree, son of testatrix’s predeceased daughter, Emily DuBree Allen (whose share, however, is to be only for life with gift over of income to his children until 21 and principal at 21). At 35, her grandchildren (except Walter Elwood DuBree) were given the shares of principal from which they were receiving income. However, if all attained age 35, upon the death of any one or more of the testatrix’s children, then the grandchildren were to receive principal per stirpes (except Walter Elwood DuBree). Upon the death of a grandchild before 35 (except Walter Elwood DuBree) leaving issue, whether said grandchild dies before or after the testatrix, then to the issue of grandchildren per stirpes (except Walter Elwood DuBree) that portion of principal from which the grandchild or grandchildren had been receiving or were theretofore entitled to receive income. In default of issue of a grandchild, then to all surviving grandchildren (except Walter Elwood DuBree) per stirpes. In [618]*618practically every instance, the testatrix in disposing of principal in gifts over describes the share of principal which the beneficiary is to receive as that portion of principal or corpus from which he or she had been receiving income.

The problem presented is whether the children of Muriel, a daughter of Florence Hickman who survived the testatrix but died before the life tenant at age 30, and Ronald DuBree, son of Walter Elwood DuBree who predeceased the life tenant, share in the principal fund now before the court.

We are of unanimous opinion that the conclusions of the learned auditing judge are correct.

As stated in the adjudication, the demands of the exceptant would require that we delete from the will or ignore completely the dominant and controlling pertinent phrases: “In further trust in the event of the death of any of my grandchildren, except Walter Elwood DuBree, before attaining the full age of thirty-five years, leaving issue my said grandchild surviving, whether said grandchild dies before or after me . . and likewise the later gift in the same item following the gift of income for life to her grandson, Walter Elwood DuBree: “In the event of my grandson, Walter Elwood DuBree, leaving issue my said grandson surviving, then and in that event. . . .” These deletions we are powerless to accomplish: Bigony Estate, 397 Pa. 102; Horn Estate, 351 Pa. 131. Furthermore, the interpretation sought by the exceptant would lead to the disinheritance of great-grandchildren, which is repugnant to the testamentary intent. It may be true that the testatrix preferred grandchildren whom she knew over great-grandchildren whom she never knew, but not to the complete exclusion of the latter. The only expressed preference in the will is that in favor of all other grandchildren over the line of her deceased daughter, Emily, and that preference was limited to her daughter Emily’s son, Walter Elwood DuBree [619]*619(whose interest is income for life as noted above), but not to the latter’s son, Ronald DuBree. We do not find in the will the plain language or the necessary implication which would disinherit the great-grandchildren, an unnatural result: Walker Estate, 376 Pa. 16; Bigony Estate (supra).

Alfred W. Hickman, the exceptant, relies upon the phrases of the will which direct distribution of principal only to the issue of grandchildren of the testatrix, when, as and if the grandchildren of the testatrix through whom the issue claimed “were theretofore entitled to income ...” constitutes a condition precedent to inheritance by great-grandchildren, children of Muriel Caskey and of Walter Elwood DuBree. These phrases of the will are not controlling.

This language is taken out of context and is rare in our experience. It is, we are satisfied, a clumsy and cumbersome attempt to describe, as the auditing judge said, the quantum of the gift. Read alone, the phrase possesses overtones of a condition precedent, but when read in context with the other language of the same paragraph and in the rest of the will, it is clear that if it were given the significance attributed to it by the exceptant, it would defeat the overall dominant intent of the testatrix.

It is palpable that any grandchild who predeceased the testatrix would never receive or be entitled to receive income because no estate was then in existence. In the same sense, Alfred Hickman, the exceptant, who attained the age of 35 before his life tenant-mother died, never received or was entitled to receive income on her share of the estate (the fund now in controversy), she being the sole recipient of income from that fund. The results flowing from the proposed ihterpretation would, therefore, be ridiculous and chaotic and would extend to disqualifying exceptant himself, a grandson. The language is inaccurate and incorrect and, therefore, cannot be relied upon to defeat the tes[620]*620tatrix’ plain intent: Irwin’s Estate, 304 Pa. 200; Lifter Estate, 377 Pa. 227. Its phraseology is obscure and ambiguous, wherefore we must impute to it such a meaning as under the circumstances will conform to the testatrix’ probable intention and be most agreeable to reason and justice and not lead to an unnatural or inequitable result: Clark’s Estate, 359 Pa. 411. The overall testamentary intent is to benefit all issue, great-grandchildren as well as grandchildren, which is the result reached in the adjudication and which would be thwarted by the construction exceptant suggests.

There is another fatal defect in the exceptant’s position. He does not qualify to share in the disputed portion of this gift because the condition precedent to his participation is that his sister, Muriel, die without issue: Whitman’s Estate, 329 Pa. 377. Muriel’s two sons are before us and so is Walter Elwood DuBree’s son.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
26 Pa. D. & C.2d 615, 1962 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 276, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wolstenholme-estate-paorphctphilad-1962.