Kelly's Estate

Citations

• 236 Pa. 54
• 84 A. 593
• 1912 Pa. LEXIS 710

Syllabus

<p>Wills — Charitable bequests — Attesting witness — Interested witness — Act of April 26, 1855, P. L. §28.</p> <p>Inasmuch as a will and codicil are in contemplation of law one testamentary act, where a will is itself without subscribing witnesses but a codicil thereto is attested the attestation of the latter is the attestation of the former, and saves charitable bequests in the former from the operation of the Act of April 26, 1855, P. L. 328, which otherwise would defeat it, providing the attesting witnesses to the codicil are without interest in the will.</p> <p>A charitable bequest in a will made prior to the passage of the Act of June 7, 1911, P. L. 702, is defeated by the mere fact that one of the attesting witnesses is a legatee under the will; and it is immaterial that the legatee was required to pay to a third person a designated sum as a condition of taking the property bequeathed to him, even though the designated sum may have been more than the value of the property.</p>