27 A.2d 797 | Conn. | 1942
The plaintiff, as executor of the estate of Helen Osborn Mason, brought this action, *351 now reserved to this court, to secure an adjudication as to the construction of her will and advice as to its duties. Mrs. Mason's will contained this provision: "I give, bequeath and devise all my property, both real and personal, wheresoever situate, including that over which I may have the power of appointment, to my husband, Norman C. Mason, to be his absolutely as long as he remains unbetrothed. In the event of the betrothal of my said husband, I give to him only the income of my said estate for and during his life, with remainder over to my children as provided in Paragraph 2 of this my last Will and Testament." Mrs. Mason left both real and personal property, but the nature of the latter is not stated in the stipulation for reservation.
Norman C. Mason's principal contention is that the words in the gift to him "as long as he remains unbetrothed" are too vague and uncertain to be given any meaning, or, at least, to be effective to cut down the estate given him from an absolute fee, while his children contend that the word "unbetrothed" is to be given the meaning "unmarried." Betroth and its derivative betrothal are words not uncommonly used. According to several standard dictionaries which we have consulted, to betroth means, and only means, to engage in a promise of marriage. See Mace v. Ancient Order of United Workmen,
With the possible exception of certain kinds of personal property within the provisions of 4896 of the General Statutes, from the time of our earliest reports we have held that estates in the nature of executory devises may be created in personal property. Griggs v. Dodge, 2 Day 28, 51; Hudson v. Wadsworth,
With reference to the personal property, the rights of Norman C. Mason, as legatee of an absolute estate subject to a conditional limitation, are certainly not less than those he would have had if he had been given a life use of the property with a remainder over. See Restatement, 2 Property, 194, comment a. Courts have differed with reference to the right of a life tenant of personal property to have possession of it, and the decisions in some cases have been made dependent upon the terms of the bequest or the nature of the property. 31 C.J.S. 152, 134. In this state the right of a life tenant to its possession was inferentially recognized in our decisions previous to the *353
enactment of 4895 of the General Statutes, which gives authority to a Probate Court to order the delivery of personal property to a life tenant upon his giving a bond. We held that, under the common law, such a bond should be required only where there was danger that the property would be wasted, secreted or removed. Hudson v. Wadsworth, supra, 363; Langworthy v. Chadwick,
As applied to this case, the decision means that, when the estate is ready for settlement, the plaintiff should deliver all personal property remaining in its hands to Norman C. Mason, that there is no requirement that at that time he give any security at the order of the Probate Court for its preservation, and that the recourse of any interested party seeking *354 security would not be to the Probate Court but to a court having general equitable powers.
In the case of a life estate within the provisions of 4895, it is no doubt the duty of an administrator or executor at least to call the matter of the possible requirement of a bond to the attention of the Probate Court before distributing personal property to a life tenant, and, if the circumstances seem to require it, to make application for an order requiring such security. See Pendleton v. Kinney,
Several questions are propounded in the stipulation for reservation as to the rights and obligations of Norman C. Mason after the property has come into his possession. The matters in question are involved neither in a construction of the will before us nor in *355
the performance by the plaintiff of its duties as executor. They are not properly before us in this proceeding and call for no answer. Carpenter v. Perkins,
To questions 1, 5 and 6, we answer "No." To question 2, we answer "Yes." To question 9, we answer that the estate given to Norman C. Mason is an absolute estate subject to a conditional limitation. The other questions we do not answer.
No costs will be taxed in this court to either party.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.