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appealprobatetrustwill

Related Cases

In re Clayton J. Richardson Trust, 138 N.H. 1, 634 A.2d 1005

Facts

Clayton J. Richardson's will, executed in 1932, established a trust that provided for income distributions to his wife and then to his only child, Verna. Upon Verna's death, the trustee was directed to pay the income of the trust to Verna's surviving children. After the death of one of Verna's children, Clayton Gray, the trustee sought guidance from the probate court regarding the distribution of income and principal from the trust, leading to the current appeal by the beneficiaries.

Bradford C. Gray and Jean G. Edmundson, two of the beneficiaries under the Clayton J. Richardson trust (beneficiaries), appeal the decree of the Grafton County Probate Court (Boyle, J.) that 'Clayton J. Richardson intended to benefit the issue of his deceased grandchildren in equal shares.'

Issue

Did the probate court err in interpreting the term 'issue' in the will to mean all lineal descendants of the testator rather than just his children?

The gravamen of the beneficiaries' argument is the meaning of the word 'issue' as used in the will.

Rule

The testator's intent is the principal guide in interpreting a will, and the common meaning of words within the will should be applied unless a contrary intent is evident.

First, the testator's intent is our principal guide in interpreting a will.

Analysis

The court analyzed the will as a whole and determined that the term 'issue' was used in its common legal sense to refer to lineal descendants. The probate court's interpretation was supported by the language of the will, particularly paragraph (h), which indicated that the trust income would be distributed to the Mary Hitchcock Hospital upon the entire failure of issue, reinforcing the broader definition of 'issue'.

Although paragraphs (f) and (g) standing alone could be read as the beneficiaries maintain, paragraph (h) militates against the beneficiaries' argument.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court concluded that the probate court's interpretation of the will was correct and affirmed its decision.

We find no error in so ruling.

Who won?

The prevailing party was the trustee, as the court upheld the probate court's interpretation of the will, affirming that the income should be distributed to the testator's lineal descendants.

Finding no error, we affirm.

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