Court Opinion

ID: 9825937
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 14:38:08.59571+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:41:34.389212
License: Public Domain

Matteson, O. J.
This is a bill by the trustees under the will of Caroline M. Brown for instructions.
The testatrix, in her will, after setting apart from the *574property given to the trustees, a fund, of twenty thousand dollars, and giving directions in relation to its investment, ■ &c., provides : ‘ ‘And I declare that my said trustees shall stand possessed of the said trust fund, or sum of twenty thousand dollars, and the investments thereof, and the accumulations thereof, as hereinafter provided, and invested from time to time, in like manner, as the principal, in trust for my grandson, Nicholas Brown, infant son of my deceased son, Alfred Nicholas Brown, in case he, my said grandson, should survive me and attain the age of twenty-one years; thereafter to pay to him the net rent, income and profits thereafter derived from said trust property, and the investments thereof, during his life, in semi-annual payments, or oftener in their discretion, for hi's use and benefit. But if my said grandson should die before me, or under the age of twenty-one years, then In Trust, for such child or children of my said grandson as shall survive me, in equal shares, if more .than one, his, her and their executors, administrators and assigns, absolutely. And in case neither my said grandson, nor any child of his, should take a vested interest in said trust monies and premises under the preceding trusts, then In Trust, for the person or persons who, for the time being, shall be entitled to the residue of my said real and personal estate, under the ulterior .provisions of this my will, and in like manner, shares and proportions, in all respects, as hereinafter provided concerning such residue.” In the codicil of her will, the testatrix further provides : ‘ ‘And I declare, and my will is, that in the event of the death of my grandson, Nicholas Brown, leaving no lawful issue living at the time of his decease, who would, under the provisions of my said original will, be entitled to the said trust property, both real and personal, then one half part of said trust property, both real and personal, shall remain in my said trustees, and be held by them, under the same trusts as are provided in my said original will, for the one-half part of the rest and residue of my estate, real and personal, and given in trust for my two daughters aforementioned, Ann Mary B. Hawkins and Caroline M. O. Brown, and the other half part thereof shall be 'held'-by my said *575trustees under the trusts created by this my codicil, for the one-half of the rest and residue of my estate, both real and personal, and given in trust for my two sons aforementioned, John Carter Brown and Grenville R. Brown,” &c.
Nicholas Brown, the beneficiary under the trusts concerning the twenty thousand dollars, survived the testatrix, attained the age of twenty-one years and more, and died October 8, 1891, unmarried and without children, having never been married, and leaving a last will and testament.
In view of these facts, the trustees ask our instruction as to whether the principal of the trust fund of twenty thousand dollars, passed on the decease of the beneficiary to the executor of his will, or is to be retained, by them under the other trusts created by the testatrix in the will and codicil.
We are of the opinion that the fund passed to the executor of the beneficiary. The limitation is that the “ trustees shall stand possessed of the said fund .... in trust for my grandson .... in case he should survive me and attain the age of twenty-one years. ” If it had stopped here, no one would have doubted that an absolute equitable interest in the fund would have vested, on the happening of the contingencies specified, in the beneficiary; but it goes on to provide for the payment of the net rents, income and profits of the fund to him during life, and this it is which occasions the doubt whether the beneficiary took a vested interest in the principal of the fund, or only in the income. Our reasons for resolving the doubt in favor of the former construction are, first, the testatrix provides that in case of the death of her grandson before her death, or before attaining the age of twenty-one years, the trustees shall stand possessed of said trust fund for such child or children' of his as should survive her .... his, her and their executors, administrators and assigns, absolutely. It thus appears that the testatrix contemplated that the child or children of her grandson, in case of becoming entitled to the benefit of the trustj should take an absolute interest in the fund, legal as well as equitable, which of course would include the fund itself as well as the income. If his child or children, succeeding him as bene*576ficiaries under the trust, were to take an absolute interest in the fund, it is not unreasonable to infer that the testatrix also intended that her grandson should also take an absolute interest in the fund, though as to him it was to be merely an equitable estate during his life, and that she for that reason added the clause directing the payment of the income to him during life. And, second, it is significant in this connection that the testatrix has nowhere in hér will or codicil disposed of the principal of this trust fund, unless it be held to have vested in her grandson. The only provisions relating to it are those which we have quoted. All of the limitations over are predicated on the death of the grandson before that of the testatrix, or before his attaining the age of twenty-one years.. It is not to be presumed that the testatrix intended to die intestate respecting this fund, and, therefore, the will is to be construed, if the construction is reasonably possible, in such manner as to avoid that result.
In the codicil to her will the testatrix makes the following devise: “And in addition to the one-fourth part of the rest and residue of my real and personal estate, devised in my said original will, in trust, for my said daughter Caroline M. C. Brown,' I give and bequeath to my said trustees, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, my estate on Brown street, in the City of Providence, to be held by them subject to all the provisions, powers, conditions, limitations and obligations contained in the bequest of the one-fourth part of the rest and residue of my real and personal estate in my said original will, excepting that the same shall not be mortgaged or sold during the life of my said daughter, for any purpose whatsoever, and that all taxes, insurance and repairs upon said Brown street estate shall be charged upon and paid out of the share of the-income derived from the one-fourth part of the rest and residue of my said real and personal estate, devised, in trust, for my said daughter; and I further declare and direct that my said daughter shall have the right to occupy the said house on Brown street, or to direct the said trustees to rent the'same, for such length of time and to such parties,' from time to time, as she may in writing request or *577direct. And my will is that’ upon the decease of my said daughter, leaving no heirs of her body, the said Brown street estate shall be held by my said trustees, subject to all the provisions, powers, conditions, limitations and obligations as are provided and declared in the original bequest to my said daughter, and subject to the final disposition of the rest and residue of my estate as is hereafter provided..”
Caroline M. O. Brown married A. Paul Bajnotti. She died April 6, 1892, without issue, leaving a last will and testament.
The second question propounded by the trustees for our opinion is, “Did Mrs. Bajnotti take an equitable fee tail in the Brown street.estate under said clause, and, if so, did the general residuary clause of her will and codicil dispose of the same in fee simple ? ”
It is a well-settled principle that a devise in fee will be restricted, and a devise for life enlarged to an estate tail, by a gift over in case the devisee dies without issue, unless there is something in the context to justify a different construction. Williams on Real Property, (ith Amer. ed. 215, note and cases cited. The devise before us is clearly within this principle. The testatrix provides that, in case of the decease of her daughter, the Brown street estate shall be held by the trustees, subject to all the provisions, powers, conditions, limitations and obligations provided and declared in the original devise to her daughter of the one fourth of the rest and residue of the testatrix’s estate, and subject to the final disposition of the rest and residue of her estate as subsequently stated in the codicil; or, in other words, the trustees are to. continue to hold the Brown street estate, on the decease of Mi’s. Bajnotti, subject to the limitations concerning her one fourth of the trust estate, in the same manner as though it had originally formed a portion of said one fourth, and subject, in case of the failure of the objects of the trusts, to the final disposition of the rest and residue as provided in the latter part of the codicil. We are of the opinion, therefore, that Mrs. Bajnotti took an equitable estate tail in the Brown street estate.
*578The regular limit of a fee tail estate is the failure of issue. As Mrs. Bajnotti died without issue, her equitable estate tail terminated on her decease. Consequently, no estate remained in her on which her will could operate. This being so, there is no occasion to consider whether a general residuary clause in a will is sufficient under Pub. Stat. R. I. cap. 172, § 3, and cap. 182, § 1, to convey in fee simple real estate in which the testator has an estate tail, or whether it is necessary that the intent to pass a fee simple, and thus bar the entail, must expressly appear.
The third question propounded is answered by our answer to the second. •
The fourth question propounded is, “Have the trustees, under the will and codicil of Mrs. Brown, power to sell said Brown street estate, now that Mrs. Bajnotti is dead?”
We think they have. The restriction on the sale of that estate was limited to the life of Mrs. Bajnotti. As she has died, that restriction is at an end and .the trustees have the same power to sell the Brown street estate that they have to sell other portions of the trust property, if the prudent management of the trusts requires a sale.
On page 10 of the codicil occurs the following clause : “And in case of the failure of all the objects of the several trusts, created by my said original will and this my codicil, by death or otherwise, or .the failure of the issue of either or all of my said children, then in that case, I declare, that all the then remaining property both real and personal, in the several trusts created in my original will and in this my codicil, shall vest in and be distributed to the persons who for the time being, shall be entitled to the same under the statutes of the state of Rhode Island, then in force, regulating the distribution of intestate estates.”
The fifth question of the trustees is, “What effect has this clause on the rest of the will and how does it affect the matters set forth in the previous questions?” As suggested by counsel, this clause is found at the end of a very elaborate scheme of disposition, and it would seem preposterous to suppose that it was intended to destroy or affect this scheme. *579It was undoubtedly intended to provide for contingencies, which, the testatrix thought, might arise in the event of the failure of the beneficiaries in the trust, either wholly or in part; in which event, -she provides that such portion of the trust estate as shall remain in the hands of the trustees shall vest in and be distributed to the persons for the time being who are her next of kin and heirs at law, according to the statutes then in force regulating the distribution of intestate estates.
The contingencies contemplated by the testatrix in this clause are three : first, the failure of all the objects of the several trusts; second, the failure of the issué of either of her children ; third, the failure of the issue of all her children. Neither the first nor third of these contingencies has yet occurred, and, therefore, it is not necessary to inquire how the portions of the clause relating to these affect the other portions of the will. As Mrs. Bajnotti has died without issue, it may be thought that the second contingency contemplated by the testatrix has arisen, and, therefore, it is necessary to enquire what effect, if any, in view of these facts, the portion of the clause relating to the failure of the issue of either of the children of the testatrix has on the estate in the hands of the trustees, the income of which, other than the Brown street estate, was paid to'Mrs. Bajnotti during her life, or in other words, whether the portion of the clause in question is repugnant to the prior limitations in the will concerning the disposition of Mrs. Bajnotti’s one fourth of the trust estate on her decease, without issue.
We do not think it so repugnant. The prior limitations in the will concerning the dispositions of the shares of deceased children, whether sons or daughters are the same. Those in relation to the disposition of the shares of the daughters are, that after the respective decease of the daughters of the testatrix, the principal of their respective shares shall be equally divided among such of their respective children, if more than one, as shall survive the testatrix and attain the age of twenty-one years, or die under that age leaving issue living, and that the trustees, during the mi*580nority of such, survivor or survivors, may pay the income to which the parent would have been entitled, if living, in their discretion, to such survivor or survivors in equal shares, or .to any guardian of them, or person acting as such, whether by appointment or not, or that the trustees may in their discretion, apply the income, from time to time, as occasion may arise, according to their respective shares thereof, to the support and education of such survivors respectively, having due regard to their age, health, position and condition in life ; but that if either daughter should die without leaving any child, who should survive the testatrix and live to attain the age of twenty-one years, or die under that age leaving issue living at her decease, then the trustees shall hold the share of her so dying, in trust for the other of the daughters of the testatrix during her life, and after her decease, for her child or children, in the same manner as her original share. We are of the opinion that the failure of the issue of either of the children of the testatrix, referred to in the clause in question, applies only to the child or children of a deceased child, who should survive the testatrix and live to attain the age of twenty-one years, and to the issue of such a child or children dying within that age, to whom, during minority, the income of the parent’s portion of the trust estate is to be paid, or for whose benefit it is to be applied by the trustees as specified ; the intention of the clause being that in case of the failure of all such issue of a child, the trust estate in the hands of the trustees should be distributed to the next of kin and heirs at law of the testatrix, and that it applies, therefore, not to the case of the death of a child of the testatrix, leaving no issue, but to the case of the death of a grandchild, or the deaths of grandchildren, or more remote issue, causing a total failure of the issue of a child of the testatrix, occurring' after such grandchild, grandchildren, or more remote issue, had become entitled to the benefit of the trusts, but during his, her, or their minority and before the trust estate had been distributed or conveyed to such grandchild, grandchildren, or more remote issue by the trustees. This construction gives effect to the portion of *581the clause under consideration without destroying or affecting the prior limitations of the will and codicil, and removes the repugnancy which apparently exists.
May 15, 1894.