Court Opinion

ID: 9716362
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 06:35:38.161334+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:44.369545
License: Public Domain

Thompson, J.,

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent. I fear the majority have engaged in the unwarranted task of rewriting Mrs. Davis’s will under the guise of interpretation.
The crucial clauses with which this case is concerned are as follows:
Clause 1:
“And after the death of my said daughter, then said Estate including Real, personal and mixed to my two grandchildren, George Frederick Boyd and William Dunbar Boyd, absolute and in fee simple to do with as they may see fit and proper provided however that said estate shall not pass unto said grandchildren until they shall arrive at the age of twenty one years, share and share alike, but the income to be paid to their legal guardian during their minority for their education and maintenance.”
Clause 2:
“And it is my Will that in the event of the death of either of my grandchildren then such share shall go absolutely to the other.”
Clause 3:
“And in the event both my grandchildren should die before arriving at the age of twenty one years, then I give bequeath and devise all said property so mentioned to St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church at Morganza, Maryland absolutely but not until all the Covenants and conditions heretofore mentioned have taken place.”
While I agree with the legal principles as stated by the majority, I must disagree with the way these principles have *514been applied. In order to reach their decision, the majority have added to Clause 2 the words “before arriving at the age of twenty-one years,” because, in their view, the testatrix’s use of the phrase “in the event of the death of either of my grandchildren” in Clause 2 showed an intent to add such a qualification. While words may be inserted to arrive at the true intent of a testator, insertion is permissible only where the intent is clear. Miller, The Construction of Wills in Maryland § 10 (1927). The majority find the requisite intent as discussed above in the use of the phrase “in the event of the death.” While the majority’s argument has some logical appeal, I do not think the intent of the testatrix is shown with sufficient certainty to allow insertion of a clause not in the original. The intent of the testatrix is more clearly shown by her careful use of the terms “arrive at the age of twenty one years” in Clause 1 and “before arriving at the age of twenty one years” in Clause 3 and by the omission of such language in Clause 2. To me, the omission of the material term in Clause 2 is more significant in determining the testatrix’s intent than the use of the phrase relied on by the majority. This omission indicates that the testatrix had a clear idea of the words to use when importance was to be attached to the attainment of age twenty one and of what words to omit when age was not intended to be a factor. By omitting mention of age only in Clause 2, the testatrix’s intent is clear: Age was to play no role in the operation of Clause 2.
I would affirm the chancellor’s decree even though, I, along with the majority, disagree with his reasoning.