Opinion ID: 837289
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: First Clause

Text: The will states that the residuary estate shall be divided in the manner described in paragraphs A and B, and the language directly preceding these paragraphs states that all of the aforesaid rest, residue and remainder of my estate shall be divided in manner following. Thus, when paragraph A's first clause begins with Fifty (50%) per cent thereof, the object to which thereof refers must be the residuary estate. [T]o my brother[s] and sisters that survive me defines the class of recipients to which the 50 percent portion must be distributed. [8] In order to survive, one must remain alive, as after the death of another or the occurrence of some event. Random House Webster's College Dictionary (2001). The will provides that the sibling must survive me, identifying testator as the one her sibling must outlive to qualify for the class. Thus, the class entitled to recover under the first clause is interpreted to consist of testator's two brothers who were living at the time of her death. The final phrase in the first clause, share and share alike, identifies the manner by which the 50 percent portion should be divided. A direction for the division of certain specified property between the members of a group, `share and share alike,' is construed as a direction to distribute per capita. Van Gallow v. Brandt, 168 Mich. 642, 650, 134 N.W. 1018 (1912) (citation and quotation marks omitted). A distribution per capita is a division of the estate according to the number of individuals ... by which an equal share is given to each of a number of persons, all of whom stand in equal degree to the decedent. Black's Law Dictionary (5th ed.). In the instant case, share and share alike provides that the 50 percent portion under paragraph A should be divided into equal shares among individuals who are equally within the class defined by paragraph A.