In re Estate of Jackson

Citations

• 179 Pa. 77
• 36 A. 156
• 1897 Pa. LEXIS 606

Syllabus

<p>Will — Construction of will — Devise.</p> <p>In case of doubt the construction of a will should be in favor of the first rather than of the second taker; of an absolute or vested estate rather than of a defeasible or contingent one; of a general or primary intent rather than of a particular or secondary one; and where a devisee is subjected to a charge or burden which it is unreasonable to think would have been imposed unless the estate given was intended to be a fee simple, doubts should be resolved in favor of the devisee.</p> <p>Testator directed as follows: “Iwill and bequeath to my son R. and my daughter C. the homestead farm .... with all the farming utensils, stock, horses .... And if my daughter C. dies unmarried her brother R. shall have what remains of .her share of my property, and if she marries, then her brother R. shall pay her one thousand dollars as her share of my said estate.” The will imposed charges on the daughter’s share amounting to more than the value of a life estate in one half of the farm. It appeared that C. had always lived with testator, and for ten years had had sole charge of his house. Held, that testator gave C. a vested estate unlimited in point of duration, and that the provisions following this gift were meant to become operative only in the event of her death in his lifetime.</p>