Shriver v. Danby

Citations

• 12 Del. Ch. 84
• 106 A. 122
• 1919 Del. Ch. LEXIS 8

Syllabus

<p>The whole of a will must be considered to ascertain testamentary intention, and inconsistent provisions should be reconciled, if possible, so that a provision showing clearly testator’s intention will not be rejected, because inconsistent with an earlier provision, but the earlier one will be modified by the later one.</p> <p>A will which devised to trustees, to pay from income a sum per week to testator’s sister for life, to pay to two granddaughters $50 a month until they reached 21, and to pay to a daughter the third of the whole income for life, also to pay to each of the granddaughters, after she reached 21, a third of the income for life, further providing that obligations representing advances to each of testator’s sons-in-law should be considered a portion of the part of the estate to the income of which their daughters were entitled, held to have directed that testator’s residuary estate, including notes executed to testator by the father of one of the granddaughters, should bé divided into three parts, and one of them held for the granddaughter whose father executed the notes, and that the notes be a part of her trust estate, so that she could not complain that the trustees in their accounts charged her with having received interest on such notes which had not in fact been paid.</p> <p>The use of the words “value received” in a note did not import a consideration, where the testimony showed there was no consideration.</p> <p>A note given to equalize the payee’s share in the estate of the maker is without consideration.</p> <p>A promissory note cannot be the subject of a valid'gift from the maker to the payee, even though duly delivered.</p> <p>Natural love and affection do not constitute a good consideration, to validate a gift of a promissory note.</p> <p>Where testator, to equalize a son-in-law’s share in his estate, gave him a promissory note, which, long after maturity, and not for value, the son-in-law transferred to his daughter, that she might se