Duckett's Estate

Citations

• 214 Pa. 362
• 63 A. 830
• 1906 Pa. LEXIS 662

Syllabus

<p>Wills — Distribution per capita or per stirpes — Children—Issue.</p> <p>Where testator in two clauses in his will uses the words “children” and “issue” interchangeably for “children” the court in construing a third clause in the will in which there is a doubt whether the word “issue” is used in the sense of children, will construe the word as meaning children.</p> <p>Testator gave the residue of his estate to his executors in trust to pay one-third of the income to his wife during life and the remaining two-thirds thereof to his three children during their lives, and after the death of his wife and the three children “then to hold all the said estate and property in further trust upon the uses and trusts following, that is to say, to and for the only proper use and behoof of the lawful issue of my said children, their heirs and assigns forever share and share alike; and in case there shall not be any such lawful issue, then the same to be divided between my nearest of kin, their heirs and assigns share and share alike.” In two other clauses in the will the testator used the word “issue” as the equivalent of “children.” After the death of testator’s wife and three children there survived nine children by a daughter, and three children by a son. Held, that the word “issue” in the clause quoted should be construed as meaning “children,” and that distribution should be made among the two sets of grandchildren per capita, and not per stirpes.</p>