Watkins v. First National Bank in Fort Myers
Watkins v. First National Bank in Fort Myers
Opinion of the Court
Appellant-plaintiffs are appealing from a final decree entered in favor of appellee-de-fendant. This case which arose from a dispute involving conflicting provisions of a trust agreement was before us previously. At that time, plaintiffs were appealing from a summary judgment entered by the chancellor in favor of defendant. We reversed the chancellor and remanded, directing him to take further testimony in order to determine the intent of the settlor at the time he created the trust. Watkins v. First National Bank in Ft. Myers, Fla.App. 1966, 183 So. 2d 575.
The plaintiff-settlor testified that it was his intent that the defendant-trustee was to pay “up to” $625/month for the benefit of each beneficiary. The defendant on the other hand contends that it has the mandatory duty to pay the fixed sum of $625/month for the benefit of each beneficiary.
The chancellor considered the evidence and construed the trust provisions in favor of the defendant. However, we cannot agree with the chancellor, and we believe that the record demonstrates that there was
For the foregoing reasons, the decree is reversed and remanded for entry of a decree in favor of plaintiffs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.