Randolph v. Wright

Citations

• 81 Va. 608
• 1886 Va. LEXIS 128

Syllabus

<p>Wills—Construction—Language—Surrounding circumstances—Case at bar.—Bitter estrangement existed between C. and her daughter R. from 1826 till the mother’s death, in 1849. OfR., in her will, C. says: “ As to my unnatural daughter, she is not to heir one cent of my property.” But between C. and her sons, P. and E., unbroken affection prevailed. In her will, she calls P. “my kind son.” Of E., she speaks as “my dutiful son,” “my beloved son.” By her will dated 1843, she, after giving some legacies, gives all of her property to her two sons, P. and E. By a eodicil dated December 8, 1848, she qualified the estate in her property given to her sons with these words: “Should either son die without a will or lawful issue, the surviving son must heir all the property given by me to him.” E. died in 1872 without lawful issue and without a will. P., by deed, conveyed the property, in 1874, to H., and after several intermediate alienations, it came to N. V. R. But the daughter, R., contended that under the will E. took a fee simple estate, and that upon his death, without issue and without a will, the estate descended to his heirs, viz: his brother P. and his sister R., in equal parts. And in the action of ejectment by R. against N. V. R. for the real estate—</p> <p>Held :</p> <p>Under the will E. took a defeasible fee simple, coupled with a power of appointment by will, with remainder over to P., and that his defeasible fee simple estate having been defeated, viz: by his death, without issue, living at his death, and he having failed to exercise his power of appointment by will, the remainder to P. is good, and that the title of N. Y. R., who claims under P., is also good.</p>