Wittfield v. Forster

Citations

• 124 Cal. 418
• 57 P. 219
• 1899 Cal. LEXIS 1010

Syllabus

<p>Conveyance to Trustee—Invalid Trust—Uncertainty*.—A conveyance of all the real and personal property of the grantor to a trustee in trust for an unincorporated association named, to have and to hold to the trustee named, “Ms successors and assigns, forever,” without further specification as to the purpose of the trust, or as to the duration of the estate, or as to the nature and quantity of interest of the beneficiaries, or as to the manner in which the trust is to be performed, does not create a valid trust as to the real property, within any of the provisions of section 837 of the Civil Code, and under section 2221 of that code, the whole trust, both as to the real and personal property, is void for uncertainty.</p> <p>Id.—Title of Heirs of Grantor-—BesultingTrust—Action by Executor and Heirs.—Where the trusts declared in an instrument are illegal, or for any reason void, either the trustee takes no estate, or there is a. resulting trust to the grantor or his heirs; and it is .immaterial which, where an action is brought by the executor and heirs of the deceased grantor to quiet their title against the trustee and beneficiary named in the instrument, and to have it adjudged that the trust is void, and to recover possession of the real and personal property.</p>