Alderman v. Va. Trust Co

Decision Date26 April 1943
CourtVirginia Supreme Court
PartiesALDERMAN. v. VIRGINIA TRUST CO. et al.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Albemarle County; Lemuel F. Smith, Judge.

Suit in equity by the Virginia Trust Company, as executor and trustee under the will of Edwin A. Alderman, deceased, against Edwin A. Alderman, Jr., and others for advice and instructions as to distribution of funds held in trust for named defendant under the will. From the decree entered, named defendant appeals.

Reversed in part, affirmed in part, and remanded.

Before CAMPBELL, C. J., and HOLT, HUDGINS, BROWNING, EGGLESTON, and SPRATLEY, JJ.

Walsh & Waddell, of Charlottesville, and George Gordon Battle, of New York City, for appellant.

Robert G. Butcher, of Richmond, for appellees.

SPRATLEY, Justice.

Dr. Edwin A. Alderman, late president of the University of Virginia, died on April 29, 1931, leaving a last will and testament dated April 14, 1931, which was probated on May 30th of the same year. The testator, after making certain bequests, not material here, gave all of the rest, residue, and remainder of his estate, real and personal, to his executor, the Virginia Trust Company, in trust. He directed the executor, as soon as practicable, to divide the estate into two portions, one of which should consist of three-fifths of the entire residuary estate to be held in trust for the benefit of his wife, Mrs. Bessie H. Alderman, and the other two-fifths to be held in trust for the benefit of his son, Edwin A. Alderman, Jr., the trusts to be held upon the conditions set out in the following clauses of his will:

"Eighth. Out of the funds hereinbefore set apart in trust for my said wife, I hereby expressly charge and direct my said Executor to set up and maintain a distinct and separate trust fund of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) in actual value, upon condition that the corpus thereof and income therefrom, or either of them, in the discretion of my said Executor, shall be applied by said Executor to the support and maintenance of my said wife, Bessie H. Alderman, without being subject to her liabilities or to alienation by her.

"And out of the fund hereinbefore set apart in trust for my said son, Edwin A. Alderman, Jr., I hereby further expressly charge and direct my said Executor to set up and maintain a distinct and separate trust fund of Sixty-five Thousand Dollars, ($65,000.00), in actual value, upon condition that the corpus thereof and the income therefrom, or either of them in the discretion of my said Executor, shall be applied by my said Executor to the support and maintenance of my said son, Edwin A. Alderman, Jr., without being subject to his liabilities or to alienation by him.

"These two distinct and separate trusts are created by me in accordance with provisions of Section 5157 of the Code of Virginia of 1919.

"Ninth. The aforesaid payments of income shall be made to my said son until he reaches the age of thirty-five years, and when he reaches that age my said Executor shall turn over and deliver to him, in cash or in securities at market value, a sumequivalent to one-half of the entire value of the principal amount of the whole of his said trust fund as of that date, that is to say--one-half of the corpus of the trust fund for his support and maintenance, and one-half of any other sums my said Executor may then hold in trust for my said son. My said Executor shall, from date of such payment of principal, pay to my said son, in monthly installments, all of the net income from the residue of his said trust fund still remaining in its hands, such residue of said trust fund being then a trust for support and maintenance under the provisions of said Section 5157 of the Code of Virginia of 1919; and said monthly payments of in-come shall continue to be made to my said son until he reaches the age of forty years. And when my said son reaches the age of forty years, if he is able, by proof satisfactory to my said Executor, to establish the fact that he is possessed of an unencumbered estate, equal in value to two-thirds (2/3rds) of the principal sum received by him from my said estate when he attained the age of thirty-five years (whether such estate was derived from the use and the preservation of the funds which he has previously received from my said estate, or from any other source except gift, inheritance, devise, or bequest), then my said Executor shall turn over and deliver to my son all of the residue of the trust estate then held by it for him under the terms of this, my will. If my said son, at the age of forty years, is unable to show that he is possessed of such estate as is described above, then I hereby direct my said Executor to maintain the residue of my said son's trust fund then remaining in its hands intact, treating said trust fund as a trust for support and maintenance as hereinbefore set out, and continuing to pay the net income therefrom to my said son in monthly installments until my said son reaches the age of fifty years, at which time the whole of the corpus of said trust fund shall be delivered by my said Executor to my said son, Edwin A. Alderman, Jr., regardless of the amount or condition of my said son's estate at that time.

"Tenth. All of the corpus of the trust fund hereinbefore created for the benefit of my said wife, except the One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), which is to be held by my said Executor as a trust fund for her support and maintenance, I give and bequeath, upon the death of my said wife, unto such persons, and in such estates, interests, and proportions as my said wife, Bessie H. Alderman, shall, in her last will and testament in that behalf appoint.

"Eleventh. Should my said wife, Bessie H. Alderman, die, leaving our said son, Edwin A. Alderman, Jr., surviving, and under the age of forty years, then I hereby direct my said Executor to transfer from the trust fund hereinbefore created for my said wife all of the corpus of the $100,000.00 trust fund over which my said wife has no power of appointment, together with any portion of her said trust fund over which she has power of appointment, but which power she has not exercised, adding the fund so transferred to the corpus of the trust fund then held by my said Executor for my said son, and increasing the corpus of the trust for his support and maintenance to the limit allowed by Section 5157 of the Code, and treating principal and income of the funds transferred as a part of my said son's trust fund, then in my said Executor's hands, and as such said funds shall be subject to all provisions with reference to my said son's trust fund hereinbefore or hereinafter set out, and operative upon said trust fund as to the date of such transfer and thereafter.

"If at the date of my said wife's death, our said son shall be then surviving, over the age of forty (40) years, and not in possession of the whole of the corpus of his said trust fund, under the conditions hereinbefore expressed, then upon the death of my said wife, all of my said wife's trust fund over which she has no power of appointment, or over which she has not exercised such power, shall pass to my said Executor as a part of my said son's trust fund then in my said Executor's hands, and as such said funds shall be subject to all provisions with reference to my said son's trust fund hereinbefore or hereinafter set out, and operative upon said trust fund as of the date of such transfer and thereafter.

"If at the date of my said wife's death our said son shall be then surviving, over the age of forty (40) years, and in possession of the whole of the corpus of his said trust fund, under the conditions hereinbefore expressed, then upon the death of my said wife, all of my said wife's trust fund over which she has no power of appointment, or over which she has not exercised such power, shall pass to our said son in fee simple.

"Twelfth. Should our said son, Edwin A. Alderman, Jr., die before my said wife dies, leaving child or children, or the descendants of any such child or children then dead leaving descendants, surviving him, then so much of his said trust fund as may be in the hands of my said Executor at the date of my said son's death, shall immediately pass in fee simple to such child or to such children in equal portions, and to the descendants of any deceased child or children per stirpes. And upon the death of my said wife, said trust fund created for her support and maintenance, and over which she has no power of appointment, together with any portion of her said trust fund over which she has power of appointment, but which power she has not exercised, shall likewise pass in fee simple to such child or children and to the descendants of any deceased child or children per stirpes.

"Thirteenth. Should our said son, Edwin A. Alderman, Jr., die before my said wife dies, leaving no child or children, or descendants of such surviving him, but leaving a widow, then I direct that my said Executor shall turn over to my said son's widow, in fee simple, one-half (½) of the corpus of such trust funds as my said Executor shall be holding for my said son as of the date of his death. The residue of such trust funds, or if our said son leaves no widow, the whole of said trust funds, shall then be added by my said Executor to the trust fund hereinbefore created for my said wife. and shall be administered as a part thereof. And upon the death of my said wife all trust funds held for her, and over which she has no power of appointment, together with any portion of her trust fund, over which she has power of appointment, but which power she has not exercised, shall pass to The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, without reservation or condition of any kind.

"Fourteenth. I hereby direct that in the management of my said estate all payments of income, and of principal, shall be made whenever practicable, to no one other than to the Beneficiary named,...

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  • In re Bissell
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Virgin Islands, Bankruptcy Division
    • November 22, 2000
    ...v. Lane, 155 F.2d 471 (4th Cir., 1946); Allen v. Wilson (In re Wilson), 3 B.R. 439 (Bankr.W.D.Va., 1980); Alderman v. Virginia Trust Co., 181 Va. 497, 25 S.E.2d 333 (1943); Thomas v. House, 145 Va. 742, 134 S.E. 673 The restriction that the trust could not "operate to the prejudice of any e......
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    ...such trust shall operate to the prejudice of any existing creditor of the creator of such trust."); see also Alderman v. Virginia Trust Co., 181 Va. 497, 512, 25 S.E.2d 333 (1943) (observing that § 5157 of the Virginia Code (now § 55-19 of the Virginia Code) recognizes the validity of spend......
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