Schmidt's Estate
Opinion of the Court
In the instant case principal, as well as income, was not to be liable for debts, contracts or engagements of the cestui que trust, whether by assignment, anticipation or otherwise. The will, therefore, differed from that in Hall’s Estate, 23 Dist. R. 1029, wherein income alone was subject to the spendthrift clause. Whether we call the paper by which the cestui que trust assigned and transferred a part of the corpus, during the life of the trust, a deed poll, or not, is really beside the question. It was in fact an attempt by the cestui que trust to exercise a power not conferred upon him, and, therefore, of no legal effect; nor could a note given by him as a collateral undertaking rise higher than its source.
In determining questions which arise under spendthrift trusts, we should not ignore what is so well said by Mr. Justice Stewart in Morgan’s Estate (No. 1), 223 Pa. 228, 230: “The law rests its protection of what is known as a spendthrift trust fundamentally on the principle of cujus est dare, ejus est
Applying the principle of this case to the facts in the instant case, we find no error in the rulings' and conclusions of the auditing judge.
Accordingly, all exceptions are dismissed and the adjudication is confirmed absolutely.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.