The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1909-07-23
Gave MONEY
TO CHILDREN.
knotty Legal Problems Come
up For Decision in the
Patrick Estate.
CONSTRUCTION INVOLVES an $1,000 BEauEs1
Mrs. Ida Patrick Wanted Her
Grand Children to Have
The Money.

"A question of construction, which
has arisen in the case of the will of
Mrs. Ida Patrick, who died last Sep
tember, has been partly decided by
Judge c.. L. Lewis and partly left
to the decision of the circuit court,
when it sets next fall.
The wording of Mrs. Patrick's will
is capable of two constructions and
for this reason arguments were
heard by Judge Lewis Monday after
noon, Buell. & Gardner represented
the two minor children of Mrs. Pat
rick's daughter, Genevieve Woods,
though their father, who wishes the
question determined as to the proper
party to receive the estate upon the
dnal accounting of the administrator.
The children are James H. Woods
and Edward X. Woods and are the
principal beneficiaries under the will
OF their grandmother, who left
about $4,000.
The will in question gives all the
property Mrs. Patrick left to these
two grandchildren and stipulates
that it shall be held in trust. for
them until they shall arrive at their
majority; in case of their death, then
the property is to be devoted to
charitable purposes. Mrs. Patrick
also stipulates in her will, that in
case she failed to appoint trustees
prior to her death, in that event the
circuit court should' appoint three
trustees; but under no circumstances
should a member of the Woods fami-
ly be one of the appointees.
Attorney G. w. Brown represented
F. F. Joy, who is administrator with
the will annexed of the estate of,
Mrs. Patrick. The contention of
Messrs. Buell. and Gardner was, that
the gift to the Woods children is
absolute, and that Mr.. Joy should
upon the settlement of the estate
turn the. proceeds over to the
guardian Of the children, j. j. Nc
Namara, who was appointed on the
twelfth day of the present month,
free from any trust whatever
Attorney Brown maintained that
In constituting the will the court
must take into consideration all the
words of the document, including
those Of limitation, as well as those
Indicating general devise to the
Woods children. That, while the
property in question is undoubted-
ly vested to the children, and has
been since the death of Mrs. Patrick,
it is subject to the trust created in
the will up to the time of their ar
irving at the age Of maturity.
In rendering his decision, Judge
Lewis held that the property was
vested, under the construction given
BY courts in similar cases, that the
will Suggested the appointment Of
trustees, and while he was in doubt
whether or not the clause of the
will suggesting trustees lis valid, he
directed the administrators c. t. a. to
make application to the circuit court
for trustees to receive the funds of
the estate in his hands. This will
raise the question of who shall hold
Y the property of the Woods children
during their minority, and will be
argued before the fall term of the
court.
The whole question involved now
I Is whether Mr.. Joy shall turn the
property over to the guardian of the
children or over to trustees. Mr..
4 McNamara is guardian ad litem
Should the court later determine
that the trust clause OF the will is
void, then guardian for their prop.
erty would have to be appointed
AS their father is alive, he is legally
entitled to such appointment, un.
less 1t can be shown that he is al
unfit person to hold such trust.
The wording Of Mrs. Patrick's viii
states specifically that no member O
the Woods family shall act as trus
tee OF the trust created for her
grandchild and the appointment
of trustees for her property, al
though not nominated by her, ap
pears to have been her intent an,
to have been her purpose to proyid
for just the contingency which f1a
arisen.