171 Ga. 787 | Ga. | 1931
On July 11, 1923, Mattie F. Edwards executed her will. By the third item thereof she directed that her executors sell all of her property as soon as it was to the best interest of the estate, but not to be unnecessarily delayed. The fourth item of this will is as follows: “As soon as said property is reduced to cash by being sold as above indicated and whatever money I may have on hand at the time of my death be divided among the following parties, in the following manner: to I. G. Dorsey, one eighth (1/8) of my entire estate; to J. S. Dorsey one eighth of my entire estate; to the
On November 17, 1928, the testatrix executed a codicil, the first item of which is as follows: “I. G. Dorsey having been bequeathed, in item 4, a one-eighth interest of my entire estate, and he having also been nominated as executor as set out in item 6 of the original will, said I. G. Dorsey having departed this life, leaving no children, it is my will and desire that all my estate be divided among the following parties, to wit: 1. To J. S. Dorsey one-seventh interest in my entire estate. 2. To the children of Katie Fullerton, deceased, one-seventh interest of my entire estate. 3. To the children of my deceased brother, John Dorsey, a one-seventh interest of my entire estate. 4. To the children of my deceased brother, Will Dorsey, one seventh of my entire estate. 5. To the children of my deceased sister, Allie Ward, one seventh of my entire estate. 6. To the children of my deceased sister, Lavonia Walker, one seventh of my entire estate. 7. To the children of my deceased sister, Birdie Blalock, one seventh of my entire estate. The purpose of this item is to bequeath to my brother in life, J. S. Dorsey, and to the heirs of my brothers and sisters hereinbefore named, a one-seventh interest in my estate.”
The testatrix died on January 10, 1929. Katie Fullerton was a sister of testatrix. She left four children, one of whom was Mrs. W. P. Howard. Mrs. W. P. Howard died on August 10, 1923, leaving as her only children and sole heirs at law Mrs. B. L. Hancock, Mrs. E. H. Fife, H. G. Howard, and Bob Howard. Will Dorsey had two children, one of whom was Mattie Hightower. She-died in 1925, leaving as her only child and sole heir at law Willie W. Hightower. Allie Ward, who died in 1905, had two children, one of whom was Zack Ward. Zack Ward died on November 8, 1914, leaving one child and sole heir at law, Abner Ward. Lavonia
Were the plaintiffs entitled to recover any interest in the estate of the testatrix, they being grandchildren of Katie Fullerton, Will Dorsey, Allie Ward, and Lavonia Walker, who were the deceased sisters and brothers of the testatrix ? If the gifts to the children of the deceased brothers and sisters of the testatrix were gifts to classes, and not to such children individually, then the plaintiffs in this case are not entitled to recover. A gift to a class is a gift of an aggregate sum to a body of persons, uncertain in number at the time of the gift, to be ascertained at a future time, and who are to take in equal or some other definite proportions, the share of each being dependent for its amount on the ultimate number, and is not on its face a transfer of title to any particular or designated member or members of the class. One of the characteristics of a gift to a class is that its members are to be ascertained at a future time; and wherever at the time of making a will the
So where a testator gave to his wife a life-estate in all his property as long as she remained a widow; but directed that, in the event of her marriage the whole of his estate should immediately go to and be distributed or divided equally among the children of his two named sisters and a brother, the children of each of the named persons to have one third of his property, this court held that the bequest was to the children of the named sisters and brother as a class, and that only the children of the named sisters and brother took under the will, and that the descendants of children who died before the testator’s death took no interest
There is nothing in this will to indicate that it was the intention of the testatrix that grandchildren of her deceased brothers and sisters should take under her will in the place of their deceased parents. The declaration that it was the intention of the testatrix to bequeath to the heirs of her deceased brothers and sisters a one-seventh interest in her estate does not indicate that it was the intention of the testatrix that children of the deceased children of her deceased brothers and sisters should share in her estate. Bequests to the heirs of her deceased brothers and sisters were to a class. If the gift is to the heirs o'f one other than the testator, the time as
Judgment affirmed.