Gaertner's Estate
Gaertner's Estate
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
If, in attempting to ascertain the intention of the testator, manifested by his will, we begin by excluding from our consideration the third paragraph of that will, our task will be simplified. The general scheme of the testator is perfectly apparent. The first and chief object of his bounty was his wife, and to her proper support and comfort as much of his estate as was necessary was plainly devoted. To accomplish this primary intent the trustee, to whom the whole of the estate is given, was empowered to use not only all of the income but as much of the corpus as might be necessary. This was to continue during the period of her life.
Upon and after her death his disposition of what
By a former distribution each of the two sons named received respectively the one dollar bequeathed to them and the son Tony something over $7,000 on account of his legacy. The present fund for distribution is a small one, amounting to less than $300, arising from the collection of some rents, The testamentary trustee
The contention of the appellant arises by reason of the language used by the testator in the third paragraph of his will, to wit, “The several amounts which I heretofore gave to my said sons, viz: — to Frederick Gaertner, Junior, fifteen thousand seven hundred dollars, $15,700.00, to Tony L. Gaertner, eight thousand and seventy dollars, $8,070.00, and to Edward D. Gaertner, eight thousand and seventy dollars, $8,070.00, I gave to them as future advances.” If that paragraph, read in connection with the entire will, was intended to be but explanatory of the reason why the testator disposed of his estate in the manner already indicated, it is clear the learned court below was right and the appellant would take nothing. If he intended in fact to declare that the sums mentioned in that paragraph were pure gifts, not thereafter to be accounted for, again the learned court below was right. If the testator intended they should be regarded technically as advancements, so that each child should account for the sum given him in the lifetime of the testator as against any bequest that might be made to him in the will, it is still entirely clear that the appellant was in no position to claim anything from the present fund. No matter what the true meaning of the third paragraph may be in the respects indicated, it is perfectly clear that the sums therein mentioned were all regarded by him as in one class. Whatever was the legal effect of the one, the same effect was to be imputed to the other. We are wholly unable to reach the conclusion that the money given to Tony Gaertner by his father in his lifetime was to be regarded as a payment on the legacy given to the same son in his will, whilst at the same time the larger sum given to the son
Decree affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.