Dieter v. Shafter
Dieter v. Shafter
Opinion of the Court
We are required to construe the will of Timothy J. Hubbard. The testator distributes the income of his estate, by way of annuities, to Elisha P. Jewett, Julia Clark, Emma G. Dieter, and Freddie J. Dieter, during their lives, and states as a reason why he does not make his brother-in-law, Shafter, and his family, beneficiaries of his estate, the greater wealth of Shafter and his family, andjiis, the testator’s reduced estate, by reason of loss by fire and sickness. He then gives his executors five thousand dollars for certain specified purposes such as he might thereafter designate by memoranda and empowers them to”sell any portion of his real estate, and in the next succeedingjTclause appoints the executors of the will. Then follows a clause which provides that when “the bequests aforesaid cease to become due, or any portion of them, or either of them, they, with all interest then due, shall be divided among the surviving heirs of Chester Hubbard and Julia Clark aforesaid.”
The question is, whether the testator excludes the defendants, the Shafter children, from sharing in the corpus of the estate. Precedents are of little aid in the construction of wills, so seldom two are found with like terms.
There are eleven clauses in the will besides the formal beginning and ending. The first directs the payment of his debts and funeral charges; the next five direct the division of the income of his estate among the persons abovenamed, during their lives, and in juxtaposition therewith, the clause stating the reason why he does not make the Shafter family beneficiaries of his estate. In these clauses, to this point in the will, he disposes of the income of his estate and nothing save the income. He then gives his executors five
Decree reversed and cause remanded.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Frederick J. Dieter, admr. v. James C. Shafters.
- Status
- Published