Dove v. Johnson
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Bill nsr equity, by the trustees under the will of John Dove, deceased, to obtain the instructions of the court as to the construction of the eighth clause of his will, which was as follows: “ I bequeath to my son George one sixth part of all the residue of my personal estate. But if one or more of my daughters should die before probate of this will, leaving no issue, then the share or portion hereby given to George shall be proportionally increased.
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Bill nsr equity, by the trustees under the will of John Dove, deceased, to obtain the instructions of the court as to the construction of the eighth clause of his will, which was as follows: “ I bequeath to my son George one sixth part of all the residue of my personal estate. But if one or more of my daughters should die before probate of this will, leaving no issue, then the share or portion hereby given to George shall be proportionally increased. The remaining five sixths (or other portion, whatever the same may be) of such residue, I bequeath to my executors and trustees hereinafter…
1Opinion of the CourtHolmes, J.
The last sentence of the eighth clause of the will plainly means that the whole trust fund is to be kept together, and no part of the principal distributed, until the death of the survivor of the testator’s daughters.
It is no less plainly one purpose of the eighth clause to dispose of the whole income up to the moment of distribution, and, when this purpose will be effected and a partial intestacy avoided by reading the words in their natural sense, we must not be deterred by the conjecture that some remote consequences were not in the testator’s mind, or might not have been quite…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Loring v. CoolidgeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1868
- Hall v. HallMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1885
- Dow v. DoyleMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1870
3Cited by23 opinions
- Fitts v. PowellMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1940
- Atkins v. AtkinsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1907
- Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co. v. ParkMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1940
- Connecticut Junior Republic v. Sharon HospitalSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1982
- Anderson v. BeanMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1915
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