Cheek v. Love

OPINION

LAMBERT, Judge:

This appeal arises from a summary judgment entered in a declaration of rights case, wherein the Marion Circuit Court interpreted the following provision contained in the Last Will and Testament of Lushen Wren: “Upon the death of the last of my children, all of my estate shall be sold and divided among my grandchildren, per stirpes.” Specifically at issue is the interpretation of “per stirpes” in the sentence and whether the stirpital root begins at the decedent’s children’s level or at his grandchildren’s level. The circuit court held that the root began at the…