Claflin v. Tilton
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Appeal from a decree of the Probate Court, upon the petition of the trustees under the will of John Ashton to obtain the instructions of the court as to the distribution of the estate in their hands under the ninth article of the will.
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Appeal from a decree of the Probate Court, upon the petition of the trustees under the will of John Ashton to obtain the instructions of the court as to the distribution of the estate in their hands under the ninth article of the will. The case was heard by Grardner, J., and reserved for the consideration of the full court, upon agreed facts, in substance as follows: The ninth article of the will, after giving several legacies, provided in the second clause as follows: “To the said John B. Callender and Mary H. Tilton the additional sum of two thousand dollars each.” John B. Callender was not…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court.
The gift in the ninth clause of the will of John Ashton, “ to the said John B. Callender and Mary H. Til-ton the additional sum of two thousand dollars each,” cannot be construed as a gift of $4000 to a class, which, in the case of the death of one before the testator, would go to the survivor. It is clearly a gift of $2000 to each of the legatees named, individually; and, as John B. Callender died before the testator, the legacy to him lapsed. Workman v. Workman, 2 Allen, 472. Jackson v. Roberts, 14 Gray, 546.
Decree affirmed.
2Cited by3 opinions
- Frost v. CourtisMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1897
- Horton v. EarleMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1894
- Stone v. StoneWisconsin Supreme Court · 1916