Goodwin v. McDonald
Cases that cite this one
4 later published cases cite this decision.
- Lifespan v. NEMC, et al. (District Court, D. New Hampshire 2011)
- Meins v. Pease (Mass. 1911)
- Gilkie v. Marsh (Mass. 1904)
- Brown v. Addison Gilbert Hospital (Mass. 1892)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion of the Court
The words of the will, “give, devise, and bequeath one half of all my property, both real and personal, to my beloved wife, Sadie Goodwin, the remaining half to my dear son, Francis Goodwin,” gave a fee to the wife and son. If there could be any doubt that the subsequent words, “ Should either wife or son die, their share to go to the survivor,” intend a death before the testator, the words which follow, “ Should both die, the property to go to the nearest of kin,” would remove it. The will cannot reasonably be construed to give life estates to the wife and son, with remainder for life to the survivor, and remainder in fee to the nearest of kin. Such a construction would be contrary to the plain meaning of the testator. Briggs v. Shaw, 9 Allen, 516. Crossman v. Field, 119 Mass. 170. Moffat v. Cook, 150 Mass. 529.
Exceptions overruled.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.