Durkee v. Smith

Headnote

Durkee v. Smith, 171 App. Div. 72 , affirmed.

Arpe at, from a judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the third judicial department, entered January 11,1916, affirming a judgment in favor of defendant entered upon a decision of the court at a Trial Term without a jury in an action for the partition of real property of one Henry Crandall, deceased, involving the validity of the will of said deceased. He gave his entire estate, subject to a life interest of his widow therein, to trustees named in his will for the purpose of establishing and maintaining public parks and a library in the city of Glens Falls, and by a separate clause of his will provided that if any devise or bequest should be held void, he gave, devised and bequeathed the property affected to the trustees named individually. Plaintiff, one of his heirs at law, having successfully attacked the devise to the trustees, for the purposes of the trust, the court held that the property went to the trustees individually, free from any trust, overruling the plaintiff’s

contention that the gift was void as an attempt to create a secret trust to avoid provisions of the law.