Beck's Estate

Citations

• 225 Pa. 578
• 74 A. 607
• 1909 Pa. LEXIS 703

Syllabus

<p>Will — Devise—Heirs—Construction of will.</p> <p>1. The word “ heirs” when used in a will is to be understood in its legal or technical sense, unless there be something in the context showing that the testator meant it to be understood in its popular sense.</p> <p>2. In its legal and technical sense the word “ heir ” is understood as designating the persons appointed by law to succeed in case of intestacy, and whenever the word occurs in a will unaccompanied by qualifying or explanatory expressions, it must be allowed the meaning the law gives it, and those only will come within the class thus described who would take under the intestate laws. And where qualifying expressions are relied on to give other than technical meaning, these must be so direct and unequivocal as to imperatively require such interpretation.</p> <p>3. A testator may doubtless use the word “ heirs” as synonymous with “ children,” but his intent thus to use it must be gathered from something more than implication. It must be expressed.</p> <p>4. Testator at the time of the making of his will had nine children. Five of them had separate homes, and to these five he had made advancements of an equal sum to each. Of the remaining children three were mutes. To the four remaining children he gave his mansion farm at a valuation which would advance them correspondingly with the other five children, and then directed that the remainder of his real and personal estate should be converted and distributed to and among his lineal heirs share and share alike. The devise of the mansion farm was, “to my youngest sons (naming them) and to my two daughters (naming them) to be held jointly and equally — and in the case of the death of one, then that portion shall descend to the other three, and so on until the death of the last one of the aforesaid children, at which time I direct my executors — that they expose the said real estate to public sale, and divide the proceeds equally among their heirs, share. and s