Brownfield v. Wilson

Citations

• 78 Ill. 467

Syllabus

<p>1. Wills—rales of construction. In the construction of wills or other instruments, in cases of doubt all the parts should be considered together, and, if possible, effect should be given to every clause and provision according to the intention of the maker.</p> <p>2. Technical rules are not so rigidly applied in the construction of wills, which are frequently written by persons unskilled and imperfectly acquainted with the accurate meaning of language, as in the con. struction of deeds; but the question, however, is, the entire instrument being considered, what did the testator intend by the will.</p> <p>3. A latter clause of a will is to be considered, when repugnant to a former provision, as intending to modify or abrogate the former.</p> <p>4. Whilst courts, in cases of doubt, may resort to surrounding circumstances to afford light in which to read the will and ascertain the intention of the testator, still they should never control—they are intended as mere aids.</p> <p>5. Same—declaration of testator. . In construing wills, courts can not resort to the declarations of the testator, either before or after the execution of the will, to control its provisions.</p> <p>6. Same—whether in fee, or only a life estate. By one clause of his will a testator, gave to his wife a certain tract of land, and by a subsequent clause he gave to his children, to share equally and alike in his real estate—the real estate to be sold after his wife’s death: Held, that the wife took a fee simple estate, and not merely an estate for life.</p>