Estate of Smith

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania April 19, 1897

Estate of Smith, 181 Pa. 109 (Pa. 1897)

37 A. 114; 1897 Pa. LEXIS 512

Dean, Dismissed, Exceptions, Fell, Ferguson, Filing, Green, Hanna, Williams

Opinion of the Court

Per Curiam,

We entirely concur with the learned court below in holding that the bequests contained in the will .of the testator are free *117from any objections under tbe statute against perpetuities. The reasons for this conclusion are so well and forcibly presented in the opinion of the court that we affirm the degree upon the grounds there stated.

Decree affirmed and appeal dismissed at the cost of the appellant.

Reference

Full Case Name: Estate of Richard Smith, Appeal of Benjamin F. Walker
Cited By: 14 cases
Status: Published
Syllabus: Will — Charitable bequest. The purpose and object of a gift in a will, and not the motive of testator, determines its character as religions, charitable or otherwise. Wills— Charitable bequest — Perpetuities. Gifts in a will of $500,000 for the erection of a memorial monument or arch in a public park, $50,000 for the construction of a children’s playhouse and grounds, and, the residue of the estate in trust to apply the income thereof to the maintenance and preservation of such structures and grounds forever, are valid charitable bequests, and do not violate the law against perpetuities; and it is immaterial that the testator has directed that a bronze statue of himself with his name underneath in large letters shall be placed upon the memorial, and that a mural tablet shall be placed in tlie playhouse with an inscription to the effect that the house was erected by testator and his wife in memory of their son.