Court Opinion

ID: 9702719
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 23:21:53.043429+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:40.792584
License: Public Domain

RUIZ, Associate Judge,
concurring:
Where an interpretation of a will is based solely on the language of the will, we review the trial court’s determination de novo. In re Estate of Wiley, 331 A.2d 343, 345 (D.C.1975). I agree that the contested provision in Lung’s will should be construed as a demonstrative and not a specific legacy. I reach that conclusion, however, not because I interpret the will as being clear in that respect, as the trial court did, but, rather, because the language of the will is not entirely clear that Lung intended a specific legacy. In such situations, we apply a rule of construction that disfavors specific legacies and prefers demonstrative legacies. Wyman v. Roesner, 439 A.2d 516, 520 (D.C.1981).