Johnson's Estate

Citations

• 249 Pa. 339
• 94 A. 1082
• 1915 Pa. LEXIS 728

Syllabus

<p>Wills—Charitable gifts—Witnesses—Disinterested witnesses—■ Act of April 26, 1855, P. L. 828.</p> <p>1. Tbe members of an advisory committee constituted by a will creating a charity for the purpose of assisting the trustee in the management of the charity, but without pecuniary interest therein, have no interest in the charity and the fact that one of the individuals designated for membership in the board was one of the witnesses to the will does not render the charitable gift invalid under the Act of April 26, 1855, Sec. 11, P. L. 328, 332, providing that no estate shall be conveyed for charitable uses except the Same be done by deed or will attested by two credible and at the time disinterested witnesses.</p> <p>2. A testator bequeathed his residuary estate to a trust company in trust “to provide for the securing of a site, the planning, erection and construction of a suitable building or buildings and the perpetual maintenance of a manual training school devoted to the instruction of boys and girls in useful arts and trades, such boys and girls to be primarily of the City of Scranton or secondarily of the County of Lackawanna.” Testator further provided “The carrying out of this project will necessarily entail considerable responsibility upon my executor and call for the exercise of good judgment and wise discretion, and it is my wish to appoint an advisory committee or board under whose direction and control this part of my estate shall be considered.” Testator named the individuals to constitute the advisory board, and further provided “The advisory board and my executor shall have the largest discretionary powers in regard to the whole subject, confined only by my direction that the object of this charity shall be the founding and maintaining of a manual training school;......all...... subjects arising in the administration of this charity are to be determined by the said advisory board in the exercise of sound judgment and their best discretion.” One of the