The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-01-03
HOLT WILL
CONSTRUED
Judge Robinson Holds
That Trust Was
Created.

Judge Robinson yesterday rendered a
decision constituting the will of Robert
w. Holt, which was admitted to pro-
bate in the Supreme Court of the Ha-
| waiian Islands by Justice Robertson
on July 26, 1862, or about forty-fou,
| and half years ago.
The present case is bill to construe
the will brought by Carlos A. Long.
administrator with the will annexed,
against John D. Holt and others. Pc
titioner submitted ten questions to be
decided, but the court lays all but three
of them aside. Those ignored "all re-
late" Judge Robinson says, Ito mat
tiers concerning the proper administra-
ton of the estate in probate or of the
trust estate and the proper discharge
of the duties of the executor and his
successor in office or of the trustee,
as the facts may appear, and ara
questions to be determined by the pro-
bate court in the one case or court OF
equity in the other, but in an entirely
distinct proceeding"
Question No. 1 is answered in the
negative, it being as follows:
Did and does the will in question
confer upon the sons of said deceased,
namely, John d. Holt, James r. Holt
pie absolute, in and of one quarter
of the estate, property and assets of
which said deceased died seized and
possessed (subject to the rights of the
widow of said deceased, Watt Holt) or
to any part or portion thereof"
In answering the first the court COW
IF said will did not confer upon said
sons, or any of them. such absolute
estate, then what is the character and
extent of the estate conferred upon
them respectively by the will in ques-
tion?''
Question No s, the third and last
tive. 1t reads:
OOcS TIE Will Ill QutStIOIi SISatc, IL
the executor thereof and in his sue
cessors, including your petitioner, in
his said official capacity, an active trust
to hold, control manage, invest and re-
invest the estate left by said decedent,
or any portion or portions thereof,
during the lives of the said sons of said
decedent, and corr during the life and
lives of the survivor or survivors OF
said persons?"
Answering this question the court
points out that the will nowhere des>
ignates the executor as trustee, nor
is the use created by each of the pro-
visions anywhere designated as trust.
Yet the language showed a purpose of
creating a trust. A decision of the Su-
preme Court. in a case in which the
identical provisions of this will were
under consideration, made that matter
not open to question.
The testator had special confidence
in the individual subsequently named
as executor and did appoint him per-
sonally as trustee, but did not intend
to and did not constitute the execu.
tors personal representative and his
successors in office trustee or trustees
Of the trust created.
.It is the policy of the law" the
court says, that the estates of de-
ceased persons shall be promptly ad-
ministered and closed, and the property
belonging thereto be distributed and
delivered to the persons entitled there
to with all convenient speed, and this
policy would be defeated by favorins
the appointment of a personal repre-
sentative and his successors in office
rather than the appointment of the in
dividual."
This Interpretation was not at varf-
ance with the words employed in the
provisions of the will. AS tending to
show the personal confidence attention
is called to the fact that the person
named as executor, William NJ. Aldrich,
was the son-in-law of the testator, the