McConnell's Estate

Citations

• 266 Pa. 294
• 109 A. 846
• 1920 Pa. LEXIS 554

Syllabus

<p>Wills — Construction—Gift to wife for life — Remainder to children — Gift of estate given to wife for life to testator’s brother— Vested estate — General scheme of will.</p> <p>A testator gave one-third of his estate to his wife for life and the residue in trust to his executors to pay the income to his two children, a daughter and a -son, during their respective lives, and, on the death of the wife, the one-third was given in trust to pay the income to the son and daughter for their lives, and if either child should , die without issue the income of the one so dying should be paid to the surviving child, and if either child ghould die leaving issue, his or her share of the estate, left in trust, should be paid to his or her issue freed from the trust, and if both the son and daughter died without leaving issue, their shares and interests before given held in trust should be paid to the testator’s brother, hils heirs and assigns, freed of the trust, and upon the death of the wife, and both the son and daughter, the one-third of the estate given to the wife during her life, should be paid to the testator’g brother, his heirs and assigns. Held, that, where the brother survived the testator, he acquired a vested interest in remainder in the one-third share of the estate given to the wife, subject to the prior life estate and that where it appeared that the prior life estates had terminated and that the brother had died, his children were entitled to the estate given to the wife, to the exclusion of the child of the testator’s son.</p>