Estate of Hibbs

Citations

• 143 Pa. 217
• 22 A. 882
• 1891 Pa. LEXIS 918

Syllabus

<p>[To be reported.]</p> <p>1. When, by a testamentary direction for the accumulation of income arising from property bequeathed in trust, it is the manifest purpose of the testator to add such accumulations permanently to the original trust-estate, and make them take its destination, it is plainly within the prohibition of § 9, act of April 18, 1853, P. L. 503.</p> <p>2. The statute is not transgressed, however, by those cases in which'the accumulations .are intended by the testamentary direction to be but temporary, and in the interest of judicious management of the estate; the purpose of the statute being, not to interfere with a judioious management, but to prevent permanent accumulations: Eberly’s App., 110 Pa. 95.</p> <p>(a) A testator created a spendthrift trust for the benefit of Ms son, Spencer, during life, empowering the trustee to pay to Spencer such part of the income as he thought necessary, and to invest the balance if any, for Spencer’s benefit; bequeathing the corpus of the fund, at Spencer’s death, to such persons as the trustee should appoint by will:</p> <p>3. As the power to withhold and invest part of the income did not in terms or by necessary implication require permanent accumulations, the whole income being directed to be used for Spencer’s benefit, it might be construed as authorizing the creation of a contingent fund, in anticipation of a decrease of income, sickness and the like.</p> <p>4. So construed, it fell within the class of cases in which the accumulations, being intended to be temporary and in the interest of judicious management, did not transgress the statute, if reasonable in amount: an accumulation of $2,666.76 sustained in this instance, in the absence of evidence that its amount was unreasonable.</p>