Appeal of Magoohan

Citations

• 117 Pa. 238
• 14 A. 816
• 1887 Pa. LEXIS 256

Syllabus

<p>In a codicil to her will the testatrix, a married woman, bequeathed her trunk and its contents to her sister. After the death of the testatrix the trunk was found to contain, inter alia, a tin box in which was a savings fund book showing deposits amounting to $765, and a large envelope addressed to said sister containing $1,800 in money and a letter in the hand-writing of the testatrix also addressed to the sister, unattested and bearing date subsequent to the will, in which was written: “ Now as to what I want done with the money, for God’s sake do the following: In case my child lives save the principal for it and use the interest as you please; see that the child gets a proper education, and do not let it want for anything you can give it. In case it dies you will have the money and no one will know anything about it.” The child died soon after the testatrix. Held</p> <p>1. That, the letter being unattested as required by the statute and unincorporated by reference, it could not be held operative as a codicil or as a part of the will.</p> <p>2. That by the bequest of the trunk and its contents, the $1,800 in money passed to the sister unaffected by the precatory provisions of the letter, but that the deposit represented by the savings fund book did not pass by that bequest.</p> <p>3. Baker’s App., 107 Pa. 381, distinguished.</p>