Cope v. Cope
Cope v. Cope
Opinion of the Court
After a careful examination of this instrument we are satisfied that it can not take effect as a will, by reason of the indefinite and uncertain character of its provisions : Thus as to the fourth item, it is uncertain, in the first place, whether it disposes of anything. It is not dispositive in terms; it simply directs a mode of dividing what is assumed to have been disposed of — a disposition not, however, found in the will. If there weré dispositive words, the subject of the bequest might, by a rule of construction, be held to have been bequeathed equally to all of the class — children and grandchildren alike. But this is contrary to natural affection and could hardly have been intended. Indeed it is probable, from other portions of the writing, that by the use of the words “ my heirs,” he meant his own children then living, that is, his two
Again it is uncertain what the testator meant by “the final settlement ” of his. estate as used in the sixth item. One-third of this he gives to the children of his deceased daughter Sarah Jane Weeks. By the statute it would mean all of the testator’s estate after the payment of debts (§ 6090); for the amount $900, that George is required to pay for the'farm (found also to bo its full value), is to be brought into this final settlement. So that if this construction were adopted, these children would take one-third of his entire estate after the payment of debts; and his two sons (or Jesse and the heirs of George), would, after the payment of the legacy of $300 to Caleb’s son, take each two-ninths, and the latter would take a like part with the legacy added. But this is not reasonable. Or, he may have intended, what would remain of his estate, after paying debts, the legacy to Caleb’s son, and the making of the division of the .bonds as provided in the fourth item. But this construction would be involved in all the obscurity that grows out' of the indefinite and uncertain character of the language employed in that item.
As to the third item, it seems certain that he intended George to have the farm on paying $900 for it; but it is not certain that he intended this disposition to take effect, whether the other dispositions, be intended to make, took effect or not. Indeed, in the light of the fact that the amount required to be paid is the full value of the farm, it is most likely he did not.
The extraneous circumstances incorporated in the finding of the court, throw but little, if any light, upon the obscurities of this will; and it is doubtful whether these could be relieved
• Without pursuing the matter, further, we think sufficient has been said to indicate the obscurity in which each item of this will, when considered in connection with its other parts, is involved, and that no construction can be given it, as a whole, for which more can be claimed than that it is a clever guess at the probable intention of the testator. But this is not enough to warrant any particular construction claimed for a will; for, as observed by Mr. Jarman, conjecture is not permitted to supply what the testator has failed to indicate; and if, after every endeavor, the judicial expositor “ finds himself unable, in regard to any particular fact, to penetrate through the obscurity in which the testator has involved his intention, the failure of the intended disposition is the inevitable consequence.” 1 Jarm. Wills, 356*. And further on, the same author observes, that, “ To the validity of every disposition, as well of personal as of
Judgment accordingly.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.