Case Name: In the Matter of the Estate of William W. Merrill, Deceased; J. Lee Enright, as Administrator of the Estate of Taylor Underwood, Deceased, et al., Appellants; John C. Watson et al., as Executors, Respondents
Court: New York Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1924-10-14
Citations: 239 N.Y. 517
Docket Number: 
Parties: In the Matter of the Estate of William W. Merrill, Deceased. J. Lee Enright, as Administrator of the Estate of Taylor Underwood, Deceased, et al., Appellants; John C. Watson et al., as Executors, Respondents.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York Reports
Volume: 239
Pages: 517–517

Head Matter:
In the Matter of the Estate of William W. Merrill, Deceased. J. Lee Enright, as Administrator of the Estate of Taylor Underwood, Deceased, et al., Appellants; John C. Watson et al., as Executors, Respondents.
Will — construction — lapse of legacies upon death of legatees within one year after death of testator.
Matter of Merrill, 208 App. Div. 649, affirmed.
(Argued September 30, 1924;
decided October 14, 1924.)
Appeal from an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the first judicial department, entered April 4, 1924, which reversed a decree of the New York County Surrogate’s Court construing the will of William W. Merrill, deceased, and directing payment of legacies to the administrator and executrix respectively of two legatees who died within the year after the death of testator. The Appellate Division held that certain provisions of the will unequivocally tend to point out the testator’s wish that upon the death of any persons to whom bequests were made within the year after the testator’s death such legacies should revert to the residuary estate of the testator and go to the residuary legatees therein named.
Wilson M. Powell and Alex R. Wilson for Grace D. Underhill, as executrix of Robert Underhill, deceased, appellant.
George S. Fulton and John J. Hickey for J. Lee Enright, as administrator of the estate of Taylor Underwood, deceased, appellant.
Samuel Greenbaum and Charles Putzel for respondents.

Opinion:
Order affirmed, with costs to respondents payable out of estate; no opinion.
Concur: Hiscock, Ch. J., Cardozo, Pound, McLaughlin, Crane, Andrews and Lehman, JJ.