In re Nelson

OSTRER, J.A.D.

*528*154The principal issue in this appeal is whether a trial court may look beyond the apparently plain language of a trust that benefitted the settlor's "grandchildren," to determine whether the settlor intended to benefit only some of her grandchildren. We conclude a court may. As the trial court here confined itself to the words found within the four corners of the trust, we reverse the grant of partial summary judgment to a claimed beneficiary, and remand for trial.

I

The late Violet Nelson left trust property to her "grandchildren" per capita after the death of her husband, an…