Yearnshaw's Appeal
Wisconsin Supreme Court
APPEAL from the Circuit Court for Grant County. Upon a settlement of the accounts of the executor of the estate of Charles McCoy, deceased, it appeared that, after payment of the debts of the estate, and of all specific legacies mentioned in the will except certain conditional legacies of $500 each to Charles Dudley and C. McCoy Clark, there was a balance of $1,895, to be distributed pro rata among the several legatees, as directed by the will.
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APPEAL from the Circuit Court for Grant County. Upon a settlement of the accounts of the executor of the estate of Charles McCoy, deceased, it appeared that, after payment of the debts of the estate, and of all specific legacies mentioned in the will except certain conditional legacies of $500 each to Charles Dudley and C. McCoy Clark, there was a balance of $1,895, to be distributed pro rata among the several legatees, as directed by the will. The provisions of the will, so far as they are important here, will be found recited in the opinion infra. The county court held that the condition on…
1Opinion of the Court
Paiíte, J.
The question presented by this appeal is a novel and peculiar one, and not altogether free from difficulty. It relates to the construction. of a will, and of course falls readily within the familiar rule that the intention of the testator is the,-, thing to be sought, and that, when found satisfactorily evinced by the instrument as a whole, it is to govern,, notwithstanding any technical or literal meaning'of particular clauses to the contrary. Such difficulty as exists here is in determining satisfactorily what was the real intention of the testator.
*24After making certain specific…
2Cited by6 opinions
- Davies v. DaviesWisconsin Supreme Court · 1901
- Dew v. KuehnWisconsin Supreme Court · 1885
- Chrast v. O'ConnorWashington Supreme Court · 1906
- Haugan v. ChesterWisconsin Supreme Court · 1928
- Carter v. RathburnSupreme Court of Oklahoma · 1922
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