Court Opinion

ID: 7810268
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-09-07 17:12:03.364723+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:30:27.110340
License: Public Domain

McCulloch, C. J. (dissenting). It seems clear to me from the language of the will that the legal title was conveyed to the trustee under paragraph 6, and that the title was not intended to be vested in tbe cestuis que trust under paragraph 7 of the will until the period of the trust expired. It is provided in paragraph 6 that the property devised “shall be held in trust” by the trustee named, and that the trustee should have “full power and authority to handle, manage and control” the estate for the use and benefit of his four children named in the will, or their heirs. It is expressly provided in paragraph 7 that the devise over to the four children should take effect “at the expiration of the above and aforesaid trusteeship herein-before created.” The concluding portion of paragraph 7 unmistakably manifests the fact that, the testator being conscious of having devised the legal title in trust to the trustee mentioned, and having provided that the direct devise to his children in paragraph 7 should not take effect until the expiration of the trust,, it was necessary to indicate the effect of the devise in the event of death of one of his children before the expiration of the trust. This language does not relate to the disposition of the property during the period of the trust, for nothing is said in paragraph 7 about the disposition of the property during that period. On the contrary, this language very plainly relates to the final disposition of the property at the expiation of the trust. I am unable to discover any sound reason why the court should disregard the intention of the testator himself and break up a- trust merely out of consideration of convenience. The creation and maintenance of such a trust does not offend against any established rule of law or any principle of equity, and there is no reason why the courts should set their judgment above the will of the testator. In dealing with this question in a similar case, the Supreme Court of the United States saidi “Upon what principle, then, is a court of .equity to control the trustee by compelling a premature payment? It is a settled principle that trustees having the power to exercise discretion will not be interefered with so long as they are acting bona fide. To do so would be to substitute the discretion of the court for that of the trustee. Upon the same and even stronger grounds a court of equity will not undertake to control them in violation of the wishes of the testator. To do that would be to substitute the will of the chancellor for that of the testator.” Shelton v. King, 229 U. S. 90. This case does not fall within the decision in Booe v. Vinson, 104 Ark. 439. In that case the controlling fact was that the charitable bequest of the body of the estate after the expiration of the trust failed.- entirely and brought about a union of the beneficial estate under the trust and the remainder in fee, and this court decided that that was an unanticipated situation which would call for a judicial abrogation of the trust. In the present case there is no such situation presented, and the only change suggested is that the devised property had ceased to be remunerative. It is to be presumed that the testator himself took such contingencies into due consideration and elected to tie his estate up in a trust until the grandchild became twenty-one years of age. I am unable to discover any sound reason for the court interposing its powers to frustrate the design of the testator in this regard. The logical result of this decision is that courts of equity are authorized to break up a trust at any time it is thought that the continuation thereof would result improvidently. This is a limitation upon the right of disposition of property which has not been heretofore declared by the lawmakers, and is not sanctioned by any line of authorities which have come to my attention. Mr. Justice Smith concurs in this dissent.