Bringhurst v. Orth

Citations

• 7 Del. Ch. 178

Syllabus

<p>■Wills — codicils — construction1 of; Wills — revocation by codicil; Construction of the words “ heirs-at-law ” and. “ issue ” in a will.</p> <p>1. In order that a codicil shall operate as a revocation of any part of a will, in the absence of express words to that effect, its provisions must be so inconsistent with, those of the will 'as to exclude any other legitimate inference than that of a change in the testator’s intention. They are both supposed to be made and executed with the some solemnity and deliberation, and, therefore, both are entitled to the same degree of consideration. The will and the codicil constitute part of the same testament, and they are each, in legal estimation, equally sacred and inviolate. Any part of the-one, not inconsistent with the other, either expressly or inferentially, cannot be set aside as unnecessary language.</p> <p>2. In the construction of a will with a codicil annexed, any part of the one, not inconsistent with the other, either expressly or inferentially, cannot be set aside as unnecessary language.</p> <p>3. The term “ issue,” used in a codicil, and the term “ lieirsat-law,” used in a will, when employed to denote the beneficiaries and not to limit the quantity or duration of an estate in lands, are not, of necessity, so contradictory as to lead to a revocation of the provision of the will.</p> <p>4. In one of the items of her will, the testatrix provided that “ if any of the devisees or legatees in this my will named, shall die before me, then the said devises and legacies shall not lapse, but shall pass and go to such person and persons as would be the heirs-at-law of such devisee or legatee under the intestate laws of the State of Delaware.” In the codicil to said will, it was provided that, “ in ease of the death before my death of > any of the legatees or devisees named in my will, the shares of those dying before me, to go to their issue, the said issue to take the share of their deceased parent, except as to any