The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-04-06

The Supreme Court Interprets
Indefinite Language of
instrument.

The Supreme Court yesterday re-
versed the. order issued by Judge Rob
lnson, granting letters testamentary to
the Hawaiian Trust Company upon the
will of Mrs Abigail Campbell Parker.
and denying the petition of Muriel
Campbell Shingle to be appointed exec
utrix of the will.
In the course of the decision the SUI
preme Court says:
The decedent died October 81. 1908.
her will be dated October 10. The
Trust Company filed its petition No
vember Is for the probate of the will
and for letters testamentary, alleging
IN its petition that the appellant was
then of the age of seventeen years,
eleven months and two weeks, and that
her sister, Mary Beatrice, was fifteen
years of age. The appellants petition,
which was. denied, was filed January
IS, 1909.
The will of the testatrix devises
and bequeaths the residue of her estate
to the Hawaiian Trust Company and
her daughters, Muriel and Beatrice, as
Mary Beatrice appears to be called, Civ
ing these trustees power TO sell and
lease real estate.
Will Indefinite.
''In the clauses of the will under
which the question herein arises =
the testatrix appoints her two daugh-
tiers, Muriel and Beatrice, to be the
sole executives of this, my will, di-
recting that should | depart this life
before two of the executives and trus-
tees named in this will, to wit, Muriel
Campbell and Mary Beatrice Campbell,
shall be of full age and competent to
act as such executor and trustee until
they the said Muriel Campbell and
Mary Beatrice Campbell shall reach
their majority and. are qualified to
by one construction of this Ian
guage,' says the Supreme Court,
f" neither of the two daughters, although
of full age, can be an executrix or a
trustee unless the other is of full age.
By taking this to be the meaning of
the viii, the death of the younger sis
ter before becoming of age would pre-
clude the elder, who is now of age,
from ever becoming an executrix, mas
much as the Trust Company is required
to act as executor until both daughters
Muriel and Beatrice reach their
majority, an event which then could
never occur. As two persons of differ
ent ages can not at the same time
reach the age of legal majority, there
is no such thing as their majority oc.
curing as single event. The term is
used here in a joint and several sense
and in order to indicate the real mean
ing the word respectively may be con
sidered as implied before the word
reach This requires that either the
functions of the Trust Company as ex
ecutor terminate upon Muriel's arriva
at the age of legal majority or else
that the will be taken to mean thai
the company shall act as sole executor
until Muriel becomes of age and ther
as coexecutor with her until Beatrice
is of age.
.sOn the whole, in view of the inapt
or inartistic language in portions of the
will, the difficulties appear to be less
in accepting the construction contend
ed for by the appellant than that sub
mitted by the Trust Company, although
in its petition for probate 1T prayed
that letters issue to Muriel as well a
to ITSELF
The opinion concludes with direction
that the case be remanded with diree
sion to issue letters testamentary to the
Hawaiian Trust Company, Ltd, ane
Muriel Campbell-Shlngle as coexeeutor.
of the will.