Smith v. Reinhart

We are concerned with whether a child adopted by a principal beneficiary after the death of the testator can take under a will that directed that the proceeds of a trust be distributed to the principal beneficiary or in the case of her death to her “issue.”

The child here is claiming under a will as a contingent beneficiary, and her rights must therefore be determined by the testator’s intention as expressed in the will. Estate of Uihlein (1955), 269 Wis. 170, 173, 68 N. W. (2d) 816. It is conceded that that expression of intent is ambiguous by reason of the fact that the testator’s use of the…