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Keywords

appealprobatewillappellant
appealprobatecorporationappellantappellee

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Park Lake Presbyterian Church v. Henry’s Estate, 106 So.2d 215

Facts

The will of Albert A. Henry included bequests of corporate stock to various legatees, with provisions stating that if the stock had been sold, the legatees would receive cash equal to the stock's value at the time of the testator's death. The probate court ruled these bequests were demonstrative, but the appeal was taken by Park Lake Presbyterian Church, which was a general legatee receiving $10,000. At the time of his death, the testator owned shares of stock equal to or exceeding those bequeathed.

The subject bequests are all of corporate stock, such as Gulf Oil Corporation stock, Sears Roebuck and Company stock, The Pennsylvania Railroad Company stock; and the context of the items enunciating these bequests is identical except for the names of the respective beneficiaries, the designations of the stock, and the number of shares bequeathed to each of the beneficiaries.

Issue

Did the bequests of stock in the will represent general or demonstrative legacies?

Did the county judge correctly rule that the legacy to the appellant church should abate before the legacies of the appellees?

Rule

A general legacy is one that may be satisfied from the general assets of the estate, while a demonstrative legacy is a bequest payable from a specific fund or property. The court must interpret the will based on the testator's intent as expressed in the entire document.

A general legacy is one which may be satisfied out of the general assets of the testator's estate instead of from any specific fund, thing, or things.

Analysis

The court analyzed the language of the bequests, noting that the alternative provisions did not indicate an intent to classify the gifts as demonstrative. Instead, the court found that the bequests were general legacies, as they could be satisfied from the general assets of the estate, regardless of whether the specific stocks were owned at the time of death. The court referenced previous cases to support its conclusion that the testator's intent was to provide general legacies that would abate with other general legacies.

It appears to this court that in the instant case the testator intended simply to give the corpus of certain corporate stock holdings, respectively, to certain individuals; but in the event he decided prior to his death to dispose of any or all of his shares of the various stock designations, he designed an alternative bequest worded so as to be of equivalent effect.

Conclusion

The District Court of Appeal reversed the probate court's decision, holding that the bequests were general legacies that abated along with other general legacies in the will.

The judgment of the court below, therefore, is hereby reversed and remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.

Who won?

The prevailing party was the appellant, Park Lake Presbyterian Church, as the court ruled in favor of treating the bequests as general legacies.

The judgment of the probate court from which this appeal is taken is that they are demonstrative and that these items should abate after the general legacies.

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