Smith's Estate

Citations

• 226 Pa. 304
• 75 A. 425
• 1910 Pa. LEXIS 759

Syllabus

<p>Wills — Construction—Vested and contingent interests — Legacies.</p> <p>1. Where a legacy is given to a person to be paid at a future time it vests immediately; but when it is not given until a certain future time it does not vest until that time, and if the legatee dies before, it is lost.</p> <p>2. If the question whether a legacy is vested or contingent seems doubtful, the doubt must be resolved in favor of a vested estate.</p> <p>3. Where a testator separates a portion of his estate and gives it to a trustee to “ allow the same to accumulate until the oldest child of my son, living at the time of my death shall become twenty-one years of age, when said accumulated income shall be divided into as many shares as there are children of my said son living at the time of my death,” and then directs that each of such children shall receive a share when he becomes twenty-one years of age and there is no limitation over, the share of a minor child of the son dying after the death of the testator, either before or after the oldest child becomes twenty-one years of age became vested as of the date of the death of the testator. The date of payment only was postponed.</p> <p>4. When there is a bequest of an aggregate fund to children as a class and the share of each child is made payable on attaining a given age, or marriage, the time of distribution is the time when the first child becomes entitled to receive his share.</p>