Court Opinion

ID: 9644836
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 21:06:11.165305+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:18.723484
License: Public Domain

Condon, C. J.,
dissenting. I am constrained to dissent because I am of the opinion that the testator’s intention is clear from the language which he has used to express it. There is, therefore, no need to- resort to the canons of construction since where the language of a will is plain the will interprets itself. Industrial Trust Co. v. Wilson, 61 R. I. 169.
The testator’s intent is evident from the following sentence of the residuary clause: “If there shall be no female children of my daughter Maria Hale Gordon, and of my son Wendell P. Hale, living at the time of the determination of my daughter’s (said Ednah Baker Hale’s) estate, then I direct that the male children of my said daughter and son shall be entitled to their (the female children’s) share.”
The inescapable effect of such provision is to postpone vesting of the remainder until the termination of the preceding particular estate in Ednah. The remainder here is to a class, namely, the testator’s female grandchildren if then living and in the alternative to his male grandchildren. In the event that there are no female children living at *61that time the testator makes it clear that he desires his male grandchildren to take the female children’s share. Nowhere in the residuary clause does he use any language indicating an intention to include in his bounty the children of any deceased female grandchildren.
In my opinion a construction of the testator’s language which at his decease creates a vested remainder in his female grandchildren is utterly inconsistent with his express language creating an alternative remainder in his male grandchildren. In the event that there were no female children but there were male children of Maria and Wendell living at the termination of Ednah’s estate the majority’s construction would defeat the alternative remainder. Such a result would be clearly contrary to the express intent of the testator in so far as the one-third interests to the children of Maria and Wendell are concerned.
As to the one-third interest to the children of Jesse D. Hale there is no difficulty, since the testator made an unconditional disposition to such children irrespective of sex. The remainder to those living at his decease became vested at that time subject to open and let in after-born children in accordance with the precedents in such cases in this state. And should any child decease before the remainder came into enjoyment at the termination of Ednah’s estate its share would go to its heirs. There were no' after-born children and Philip J. Hale died before Ednah’s estate terminated.
For the reasons above stated, the one-third interest bequeathed to the children of Maria should be distributed to Theodora G. Hall and Helen G. Harrell, the one-third interest of the children of Wendell should be distributed to Elizabeth G. Hale, and the one-third interest of the children of Jesse to Alice Hale and the estate of Philip J. Hale, deceased.