Hart v. Grays Harbor County

(dissenting) — I dissent. Appellant contends, and the majority holds, that a pension is a gratuity and not a right; that it inures to the pensioner personally and not to his estate. In support of this position, appellant cites Whitaker v. Clausen, 57 Wash. 268, 106 Pac. 745, 107 Pac. 832, and In re Snyder’s Petition, 93 Wash. 59, 160 Pac. 12, 3 A. L. R. 1230. While in the latter case it is asserted that a mother’s pension is “in the nature of a largess or bounty,” I think the decision has no bearing upon the problem presented here. For in that case, it is simply held that a mother who…