Morss v. Morss

This is an action brought for the construction of the last will and testament of John B. Morss, deceased. In the first paragraph deceased provides;

“I bequeath and devise to my wife, Catherine F. Morss, one-third of the income of all my property, real and personal, during her life.”

In the second paragraph he gives all his property to his son, George B. Morss, “save and except that in paragraph one of the will I reserve to my wife one-third of the income therefrom during her life.” In the third paragraph the testator appoints guardians to administer the estate during the minority of the above-mentioned George B. Morss, and further constitutes said guardians trustees “to carry into effect the provisions of this will until my son, George B. Morss, attains the age of twenty-eight years.” The fourth paragraph, which is the cause of this litigation, reads:

“On my son attaining the age of twenty-one he shall receive out of my estate $10,000 as a start in business life and shall receive two-thirds of the income of my estate, and so soon after attaining the age of twenty-eight years as he shall assure by adequate security to my wife her one-third of the ihcome of my estate my son shall receive all the rest of my property and its increase.”

As the son is now of age and entitled to $10,000, as provided' for in the fourth paragraph of the will, the question arises whether such payment should reduce by that amount the principal from which the widow is to receive her income during the remainder of her life. The estate, which for all practical purposes consists entirely of personalty, closely approximates $150,000. The income derived therefrom, as appears by the record, amounts to approximately $6,000, of which the son has been receiving $4,000 and the mother $2,000. The payment of $10,000 will reduce the estate to $140,000 and the income to $5,600. It is claimed by the son that the only way in which effect can be given to every part of the will is to reduce the decedent’s estate by $10,000 upon payment of that amount to the son, and to base all future payments of income to mother and son upon the principal as thus reduced.

The son, in support of his claim that the widow’s interest is reduced by the fourth clause, relies upon two well-known rules of construction as cited in Van Nostrand v. Moore, 52 N. Y. 12 , and Adams v. Massey, 184 N. Y. 62 , 69, 76 N. E. 916 . In the first case the court invoked the rule that:

“When two clauses in a will are irreconcilable, so that they cannot possibly stand together, the one which is posterior in position shall be considered as indicating a subsequent intention, and prevail, unless the general scope of the will leads to a contrary conclusion.”

This rule of preference to later clauses does not apply to the case at bar, because the general scope and import of the will does lead to a contrary conclusion, and for the further reason that the clause for which preference is sought is followed by a reiteration of the very gift it is.claimed to cut down. The rule in Adams v. Massey, that, “If there is no doubt as to the meaning of the earlier clause, while there is doubt as to the meaning of the later, so that either of two constructions is possible, that construction will be adopted which will give effect to both,” is relied upon by the son as being the true principle of construction to be applied in such a case as the one at bar. I fail to see how the construction advocated by him gives any effect to the first provision of the will giving to the wife a life estate in one-third of the property. According to the son’s interpretation, the gift to the wife in the first clause amounts to an estate for years in. one-third of the property to last during the minority of the son, and after that and until she dies to a life estate in one-third of the property as reduced by the $10,000 payment. Such an interpretation, to my mind, would be.entirely foreign to the intention of the testator.

Both rules invoked by the son seem to me, therefore, to be inapplicable, and even if they were in point they would be made subservient to the general rule that the intent of the testator is to be gathered from the whole will. With this general intention of the testator in mind, it follows that the direction in the fourth paragraph whereby the son is to receive $10,000 on his attaining his majority and also to receive two-thirds of the income does not reduce the income to be paid to the widow. Her income is a variable quantity only in so far as the earning power of the estate increases or decreases. The general scheme of the testator as expressed in his will can be given effect, it

Judgment accordingly.