Peterson's Estate

Citations

• 242 Pa. 330
• 89 A. 126
• 1913 Pa. LEXIS 883

Syllabus

<p>Wills — Construction—Devise of property \free from any trust\ —Stock deposited with voting trust — Date when will is operative— Residue.</p> <p>1. Tbe rule that a will speaks as though executed immediately before the death of the testator, relates to the effect and operation of the instrument, rather than to its construction; as regards the intention of the testator, the will is to be construed as of the date of the execution. Where it appears in the will that the testator intended it to be confined to the state of affairs existing when it was made, the construction must be such as to conform to such intention.</p> <p>2. The fact that there is a residuary clause can not in any wise limit or detract from what has been previously given in the will; nor can such residuary clause have the effect of putting a construction on a previous clause of the will in order to create a residue.</p> <p>3. Testatrix by will provided: “Whereas, I am the owner of certain property and estate which I hold in my own right free from any trust, now I hereby give, devise and bequeath the same to my husband, A., absolutely.” At the date of the execution of her will, she was the owner of certain property in her own right, and was the beneficiary of certain trust estates left by her father and mother, of which she enjoyed the income and over which she had a power of appointment, but with no other control of the fund. The estate left in trust for her by her father consisted of stock of a steel company which was continued as an investment by the trustees, under directions given by their testator. The business of the steel' works was very profitable, and subsequent to the execution of the will of testatrix, there were large accumulated undivided profits, which were strictly income, the distribution of which could have been enforced at any time by those entitled to receive it. By agreement made between the various parties interested, including testatrix, it was provided that these undivided prof