Laws v. . Christmas
Supreme Court of North Carolina
Appeal by plaintiff from Stacy, J., at tbe September Term, 1919, of ORANGE. This is an action by tbe executor of Louisa Frye and E. L. Christmas against tbe children of tbe said Christmas to obtain a construction of tbe will of tbe said Frye, and to determine tbe rights in tbe proceeds of tbe sale of a certain lot of land.
Read the full summary
Appeal by plaintiff from Stacy, J., at tbe September Term, 1919, of ORANGE. This is an action by tbe executor of Louisa Frye and E. L. Christmas against tbe children of tbe said Christmas to obtain a construction of tbe will of tbe said Frye, and to determine tbe rights in tbe proceeds of tbe sale of a certain lot of land. Tbe will is in tbe following words: “I, Louise Frye, being of sound mind and memory, do make this, my last will and testament, as follows r I desire my body to be decently buried in tbe new cemetery plot on tbe south side, designated by Mr. George Laws, who will attend to…
1Opinion of the Court
■ AllbN, J.
The words which give rise to the present controversy are “want” and “used for the education of his children,” the plaintiff, R. L. Christmas, contending that there was an absolute gift of the money to him when the testatrix said “to go to R. L. Christmas,” and that the word “want” is precatory and merely expressive of a desire or wish, while the defendants, his children, insist that a trust is declared in their favor.
The first difficulty in the way of the position taken by the plaintiff is that it proves too much, since it is not reasonable to hold that the word “want” relates to…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Colton v. ColtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1888
- Knox v. KnoxWisconsin Supreme Court · 1884
- Witherington v. Herring.Supreme Court of North Carolina · 1906
- Hardy v. . HardySupreme Court of North Carolina · 1917
- Daniel v. . OwenSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1875
3Cited by15 opinions
- Creech v. CreechSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1943
- Creech v. . CreechSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1943
- Brinn v. . BrinnSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1938
- Young Women's Christian Ass'n of Asheville v. MorganSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1972
- Quickel v. QuickelSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1964
10 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.