Wiggins v. Wiggins
New Jersey Court of Chancery
On final bearing on bill and answer. Tbe complainant, Lucy A. Wiggins, is the widow and the defendant, William Wiggins, is tbe son of Del H. Wiggins, deceased, who died October 29th, 1902, testate of a will, presently to be stated, and seized of about six hundred acres of land in Morris county and two town lots in the village of Warwick, Orange county, New York.
Read the full summary
On final bearing on bill and answer. Tbe complainant, Lucy A. Wiggins, is the widow and the defendant, William Wiggins, is tbe son of Del H. Wiggins, deceased, who died October 29th, 1902, testate of a will, presently to be stated, and seized of about six hundred acres of land in Morris county and two town lots in the village of Warwick, Orange county, New York. The lands in Morris county were subject to a balance of $1,000, with alleged arrears of interest, due on a bond and mortgage for $3,000, given by testator in his lifetime and which had been assigned to and Held, by his son, William…
1Opinion of the Court
Pitney, V. C.
The. well-established fundamental rule in construing wills is to ascertain the 'intention of the testator — first, by carefully considering the force of every word of the language he has used, and second, in cases of difficulty or ambiguity, by considering therewith his pecuniary circumstances and his family and social relations.
The great number of wills, which, in bygone years, have been the subject of judicial construction, are so variant in their language that it has been found that little assistance is derived from the recorded judicial results, except where certain words and…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Williamson v. WilliamsonNew York Court of Chancery · 1837
- Lord v. LordSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1854
- Borden v. JenksMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1886
3Cited by4 opinions
- Fidelity Union Trust Co. v. PriceNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division · 1952
- Ballantine v. BallantineU.S. Circuit Court for the District of New Jersey · 1907
- Reed v. SchuhNew Jersey Court of Chancery · 1944
- Young v. McQueenNorth Dakota Supreme Court · 1933