12 A.2d 465 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1939
Argued December 14, 1939. On February 19, 1938, Rosie E. Adams, died testate and in her will provided for the equal distribution of her property among three of her four children and her one grandchild, and appointed her daughter, Anna Andrews, executrix. The latter duly qualified and filed an inventory whereupon appellant, a son and legatee of the deceased, petitioned the court below for an order on the executrix to file a supplementary inventory, to include as part of the estate certain bonds allegedly owned by the decedent, not appearing in the inventory as filed. An answer was filed in which these bonds were claimed by the executrix personally and by her sister, Edna Sauers, as a gift from their mother. Depositions were taken and from the testimony the court below found as a fact that decedent had made a valid gift of the bonds to her daughters, inter vivos. A final order was entered on June 19, 1939 refusing the prayer of the petitioner. This appeal followed.
In a proceeding of this nature, the orphans' court *514
properly exercised jurisdiction in deciding the question of ownership of the securities. Leadenham's Estate,
Appellant contends that decedent delivered the bonds to her daughters, not as a gift to them, but in trust for her support, because the writing states that the bonds were "to be used for my care." These words coupled with the gift to the daughters "in appreciation of the care they are giving to me" created some ambiguity in the writing and the court below properly held that parol evidence was competent to show what the decedent intended. Every written instrument is to be interpreted according to the subject-matter. "To this end, courts take the language employed and apply it to the surrounding circumstances exactly as they believe the parties applied it": Wright v. The Monongahela Nat.Gas Co.,
The bonds in question had been kept in a bank in *515 Hazleton in a safety deposit box "leased to Mrs. Rose E. Adams or Edna Sauers." About a year before her death, decedent went to the bank and had some conversation with Mabel Swoyer, an employee of the investment department of the bank, in regard to these securities. In the course of this conversation decedent stated that "her two daughters had always done a lot for her and had been kind to her" and she wanted them to have the bonds and by other similar statements indicated an intention to give the bonds to them. On January 10, 1938 this witness suggested to the daughters that they should have some written evidence of the gift and from her recollection of the conversation with the decedent as to terms, she prepared the writing quoted above, which was executed by the decedent the same day. Decedent was not present when the writing was prepared and died about six weeks later. The phrase "to be used for my care" was inserted in the writing by the bank employee because she thought "in case Mrs. Adams needed the money it could be used for that purpose" but she had no recollection that decedent had imposed any restriction or condition on the gift.
The bonds had been removed from the safety deposit box by the daughter, Edna Sauers, and had been placed in a new box in the name of both of the donees and it is not denied by appellant that at the time the above writing was executed, the securities in question were in the possession of decedent's daughters named therein. The writing recites that the gift had been consummated and it is well settled that a delivery of the subject matter of a gift may be proved by the declarations of the donor, and when the donor declares that the gift has been made, it is implied that delivery and every other formality necessary to create a gift have taken place: Sherman v. Stoner,
While the burden of proof was upon decedent's daughters to establish the gift (Weaver, Exr. v. Welsh,
We, therefore, are of the opinion that the court below properly found that both essential elements of a gift, inter vivos, were present: (1) an intention or purpose to give; and (2) a delivery, actual or constructive, of a nature sufficient not only to divest the donor of all dominion over the property but also to invest the donee with complete control over the subject matter of the gift: Finn, Exr. et al. v. Finn,
Decree affirmed at the costs of appellant. *517