In re Estate of Garrett

Petitioners, nieces and nephews of the testator, Pearl Garrett, brought this action to construe their aunt’s will. The trial court found that the estate passed as a class to the decedent’s surviving siblings but certified two questions to us under Supreme Court Rule 308(a) (155 Ill. 2d R. 308(a)). We hold that the estate passes per stirpes to the descendants of the testator’s deceased siblings.

On June 2, 1987, Pearl Garrett executed a will that divided her estate among her 10 then-living siblings and the children of her two deceased sisters. The single dispositive paragraph provided:

“I direct…