Northern Trust Co. v. Wheaton

• Decision Date: 19 April 1911
• Parties: NORTHERN TRUST CO. v. WHEATON et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

249 Ill. 606

94 N.E. 980

NORTHERN TRUST CO.

v.WHEATON et al.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

April 19, 1911.

Error to Circuit Court, Cook County; Julian W. Mack, Judge.

Action by the Northern Trust Company, as trustee and executor under the will of Albert E. Hoadley, deceased, against Albert Wheaton, Jr., and others, for the construction of the will and directions for executing the trust. From a decree ordering the trustee to continue to administer the trust until the death of the widow and to allow the income thereof to accumulate, defendants bring error. Reversed and remanded, with directions.Frank O. Campe, Hayden N. Bell, and Charles J. Kavanagh, for certain plaintiffs in error.

Henry G. Miller, guardian ad litem and solicitor for certain minors.

Martin C. Koebel, for administrator Devine.

William S. Miller and Frederick H. Bengel, for defendant in error Northern Trust Co.

Lackner, Butz & Miller, for defendant in error Dicker.

VICKERS, C. J.

This is a bill in chancery brought by the Northern Trust Company, as trustee and executor under the will of Albert E. Hoadley, deceased, against the heirs and beneficiaries of the estate, for the construction of his will and directions for executing the trust. Upon a hearing in the court below a decree was entered ordering the trustee to continue to administer the trust until the death of the widow of the testator and allow the income thereof to accumulate and be added to the principal, and at the death of the widow, Allie G. Hoadley, the trust estate to be distributed to the surviving beneficiaries who might be living at the time of her death. This writ of error has been sued out by the beneficiaries and the heirs of deceased beneficiaries for the purpose of having the decree of the court below reviewed.

The facts, which are not in controversy, are as follows: Albert E. Hoadley died leaving a last will and testament, which was duly probated in Cook county on the 23d day of February, 1900, and the Northern Trust Company was, in accordance with the direction of the will, appointed executor and trustee of the estate. Section 2 of the will gives Allie G. Hoadley, the widow, certain articles of personal property. By section 3 she is given a life estate in a house known as No. 683 Washington boulevard. Section 4 bequeaths to Dr. Richard Fyfe certain medical books and instruments. None of these sections of the will are involved in this proceeding. The whole controversy grows out of section 5 of the testator's will, which is as follows:

‘I give, devise and bequeath unto the Northern Trust Company of Chicago, as trustee, all of the estate and property of all kinds, whatsoever and wherever situated, belonging to me at the time of my death, remaining after the payment of my said debts, funeral expenses and the gifts, devises and bequests above provided for, in trust for and upon the following trusts, purposes and conditions, to wit: Said trust company shall hold, manage, lease, care for and control all of said trust estate for and during the following period, to wit, for and during the life of my said wife, Allie G. Hoadley, and the life of my sister, Laura E. Thomas, and the life of the survivor of them, and at the end of said period the trust estate then in the hands of the trustee shall go, belong and be immediately divided in absolute ownership to the following named persons, share and share alike: Albert Wheaton, Jr., of Amboy, Illinois, Lucy Collins, of Chicago, Illinois, and Jessie Gillett, of Malden, Bureau county, Illinois (children of my sister, Laura E. Thomas); Annie Florence Dicker and Jennie Dicker (children of James E. and Annie E. Dicker); Wallace Harvey (child of John H. and Florence E. Harvey); and Nellie E. Dicker, Willard W. Dicker, Alfred O. Dicker and Edward Hoadley Dicker (children of Edward A. and Jennie E. Dicker). In the event of the death of any of the ten persons above named as beneficiaries before the interest in my estate shall vest in them, leaving a child or children surviving at the time said estate shall vest, then said child or children of such deceased person shall take their parents' share: Provided, however, in the event that at the time my said estate shall vest, as above provided, any of the above named beneficiaries shall be minors, then as to the interest of said minor or minors in my said estate said trust shall continue until said minor or minors shall come of age, respectively, and on attaining their majority such minor or minors shall receive their respective interests. In case of the death of any of said minors after said estate shall vest and before they become of age, as to their interest said trust shall terminate and their interest be paid to their legal heirs or representatives. During said period of said trusteeship said trustee shall manage, control, lease, care for and protect said trust property and collect the income therefrom, all in accordance with its best judgment and discretion. Said trustee is given hereby full power to sell and convey any and all of said property, and any of the reinvestments thereof, from time to time, for such prices and for such terms as it shall see fit, for the purpose of reinvestment; also power at all times to invest such part of said trust estate as may be in or converted into cash, in such income-bearing securities or property, real or personal, as it shall deem best. The trustee shall be paid a fair and just compensation out of the trust property for its services hereunder; also the trustee shall be allowed to employ such agents and attorneys as are reasonably necessary in managing and protecting the trust estate, and their compensation, as well as the reasonable and proper expenditures made or incurred by the trustee in administering the trust, shall be repaid and allowed the trustee out of the trust estate. I further direct that out of my estate my said trustee shall pay to my wife, Allie G. Hoadley, as long as she may live, the sum of $1,000 annually, payable in quarterly installments of $250 each. I further direct that my said trustee shall also pay to my sister, Laura E. Thomas, the sum of $25 per month as long as she may live. If the income of my estate shall not be sufficient to make such payments, then my said trustee is hereby authorized and directed to use such portion of the principal of my estate as may be necessary for that purpose.’

The widow renounced the provisions of the will in her favor and elected to and did receive one-half of the real and personal estate of the testator absolutely as her own. The balance of the estate, excepting some unimportant bequests, was received and has been ever since held by the Northern Trust Company under the said will. Laura E. Thomas, a sister of the testator, was paid $25 per month by the trust company until the month of February, 1906, when she died. Nellie E. Dicker, named in the will as one of the residuary devisees, died before Laura E. Thomas, leaving no child or children surviving her. After the renunciation of the widow and the death of Laura E. Thomas, the adult beneficiaries under the will made a claim upon the trustee for their distributive shares upon the theory that the renunciation of the widow terminated her life estate and accelerated the remainder.

[1] The first question presented for out consideration is whether the remainder of the ten beneficiaries named in section 5 of the will is vested or contingent. This question is important to enable the trustee to know what disposition to make of the interest of Nellie E. Dicker, one of the ten beneficiaries, who died after the death of the testator but before the death of Laura E. Thomas. This question is one of construction, and must be determined from a consideration of all the clauses of the will in connection with each other, so as to arrive at the intention of the testator as the same is expresed by the words employed in the will.

[2]The first clause of section 5 devises all of the testator's estate to the trustee that may remain after the payment of debts, funeral expenses, and the gifts, devises, and bequests specifically provided for in the preceding sections of the will. The second clause of said section directs that the trustee shall hold, manage, lease, and care for all of said trust estate during the life of the testator's wife, Allie G. Hoadley, and the life of his sister, Laura E. Thomas, and the life of the survivor of them, and ‘at the end of said period the trust estate then in the hands of the trustee shall go, belong and be immediately divided in absolute ownership to the following named persons, share and share alike.’ The will then designates by name ten persons as beneficiaries under the will. The next clause provides that in the event of the death of any of the ten persons above named as beneficiaries before their interest vests in them, leaving a child or children surviving, such child or children of such deceased beneficiary shall receive the parents' share. The next clause provides that if, at the time the estate vests in the beneficiaries, any of them shall be minors, the trust shall be continued as to such minors' interest until they attain their majority, when they shall receive their respective shares, and, in case of the death of such minors before they attain their majority, the shares of such as may die during minority shall go to their legal heirs. The next clause of the will gives the trustees power and direction with reference to the management of the trust estate and makes provision for compensation, etc. The last clause of section 5 directs the trustee to pay the wife, Allie G. Hoadley, the sum of $1,000 annually, in quarterly installments of $250 each, so long as she may live, and directs the payment to the testator's sister, Laura E. Thomas, of the sum of $25 per month as long as she may live.

There is no controversy as to the character of the estate given to the wife and sister of the...