Scull's Estate
Scull's Estate
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
We have here two appeals which were argued together. Two questions are intended to be raised by the assignments of error, one as to the correct construction of the residuary clause of the will, and the other as to the right of the trustee to commissions for which he claimed credit in the account. The assignments of error are, however, all defective. They do not show any exceptions filed by appellants in the court below, or any action by the court upon such exceptions. The final decree of the court below is not assigned for error, nor is it set forth in any of the assignments. In each of the four assignments, the court below is charged with error, in deciding certain things, which are stated in the language of appellants, and not in that of the court itself. In Hardy v. Lehigh Valley R. R. Co., 240 Pa. 454, our Brother Elkin said (p. 457) : “We have repeatedly said that assignments in this form are insufficient under our rules and decisions. An appeal is from an order, or decree, or
By the will of David Scull, who died in 1889, the sum of ten thousand dollars was given to his executors in trust, to pay the income to his son, George Scull, during the life of the latter, without liability for his debts, &c., and it was provided that the “said sum of ten thousand dollars shall, upon his decease, revert to find become part of my residuary estate hereinafter disposed of.” It was further provided: “And in case of the decease of either or any of my said seven children, residuary devisees, whether during my lifetime or after my decease, without leaving any children or issue of a deceased child to survive them, or if leaving such child, children or issue, all of them should depart this life under the age of twenty-one years without issue, then it is my will and desire that the part and share of my residuary estate intended for such child so dying and his or her children as aforesaid, shall go to and I do hereby give, devise and bequeath the same unto my surviving children, residuary devisees, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns forever in equal parts and shares.” The principal question here raised is the same as that which was con
George Scull, the beneficiary for life of the trust fund, died June 21, 1913, and the surviving trustee filed his account. At the audit of the account, these appellants claimed that as they were at that time, the only surviving children of the testator, they were as such, entitled to the entire amount of the shares of Harriet and Anna, the two children of the testator who died without issue. The auditing judge denied their claim as presented. The accountant was also one of the executors, and the auditing judge found as a fact that he had waived his claim to commissions in the first instance. For that reason the commissions, amounting to five hundred dollars, for which credit had been claimed in the account, were disallowed, and he was surcharged with that amount. With respect to this matter, it was said in the opinión of the court below dismissing exceptions to the adjudication, “The original account filed by the executors shows they had distributed all the avail
To the Estate of Anna S. Reed,......10-210ths.
To the Estate of David Scull,.......30-210ths.
To the Estate of Mary Scull Grove,. .30-210ths.
To the Estate of Frank P. Scull,.....30-210ths.
To Winfield S. Scull,..............55-210ths:
To Willoughby R. Scull,...........55-210ths. .
(For 30-210ths of which he should give security for the protection of the interests in remainder.)
The assignments of error are overruled. The appeals at No. 202 and No. 203, January Term, 1914, are dismissed at the cost of appellant in each case, and the record is remitted to the court below, that the decree of distribution may be modified in accordance with this opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Scull's Estate. Scull's Appeal
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- Syllabus
- Wills—Residuary devises—Vested and contingent remainders. 1. ' When a testator bequeathed a sum of money in trust for the benefit of a son for life and provided that upon the death of the life tenant the fund should become part of his residuary estate, and further bequeathed the residue to seven other children and provided that in case of the death of any of such children without surviving children or issue the share of such child “shall go to and I do hereby give, devise and bequeath the same unto my surviving children, residuary devisees, their heirs, etc., in equal parts and shares,” the shares in the trust fund of children dying without issue vested immediately in the surviving children; the period of vesting was not postponed until the termination of the life estate and upon the death of the life tenant the shares of such children dying without issue should be distributed among testator’s living children and the issue of deceased children who were living at the death of the children dying without issue. Executors and administrators—Commissions—Waiver. 2. Where in such case it appeared that no commissions had been claimed on the principal of the estate in accounts previously filed and that during eighteen years no commissions had been claimed on the income of the trust fund, the court made no error in concluding that the right to commissions had been waived and. properly refused to allow the surviving executor commissions on the principal of the trust fund. Equity—Practice, Supreme Court — Appeals — Assignments of error—Defective assignments—Paper boolcs. S. On appeal from a decree of the Orphans’ Court assignments of error are defective where they do not show any exceptions filed in the court below, or any action of the eouTt upon such exceptions and where the final decree is not set forth or assigned for error. 4. An appellant’s paper book is defective which does not contain the entire adjudication of the auditing judge, or a copy of the executor’s account, or the evidence, although it appears that evidence must have been taken on a question involved in the appeal.