Estate of Behrmann

Citations

• 2 Coffey 513

Syllabus

<p>Wills.—Every Portion of a Will must he Made to have Its Just Operation, unless there arises some invincible repugnance, or else some portion is absolutely unintelligible.</p> <p>Wills—Transposition of Words.—Words or Clauses of Sentences, or even whole paragraphs of a will, may be transposed to any extent with a view to show the intention of the testator.</p> <p>Wills.—An Interlineation in a Will is the Most Significant part of the line, and where a clause as originally written is clear, and the testator subsequently makes an interlineation, it must be assumed that he intended to make the sentence convey a meaning which it did not theretofore express.</p> <p>Wills—Interlineations—Death of Legatees.—Where two legatees named in a will died after its execution, and the testator thereafter noted the fact of their death in his will, and the sums bequeathed to such legatees equal the amount which will go to other legatees if effect is given to an interlineation in that part of the will containing the bequests to them, the inference is strong that by such interlineation the testator meant to transfer to such legatees the bequests originally made to the legatees who died after the execution of the will.</p> <p>Wills—Construction in Favor of Validity of All Parts.—Where a testator has heirs, and his language will admit of two constructions, one of which will make all the provisions of the will valid, and the other of which would result in creating a legacy to a charitable society in excess of one-third of his estate, which legacy would be void as to such excess under the statute, it will not be presumed that he intended to make a partially invalid bequest, and the court will adopt that construction which is in harmony with the law of wills.</p>