162 A. 168 | Pa. | 1932
Argued February 3, 1932. The will of Nathaniel G. Hickman with codicil attached was duly probated and no appeal taken therefrom, but, after various legacies had been paid, appellant, who is next of kin and a legatee, unsuccessfully endeavored to strike down the residuary bequest in the distribution of the balance of the estate. His contention was that there were a number of alterations and interlineations made by the testator after the execution of the will and codicil and that since they increased the amount of the residuary estate passing to charity that the bequest was void because the will as altered was not executed in conformity with the statute relating to bequests to charities. Section 6 of the Wills Act of 1917, P. L. 406, reads, "No estate, real or personal, shall be bequeathed or devised to . . . . . . charitable uses, except the same be done by will attested by two credible, and, at the time, disinterested witnesses."
The testator made provisions in his will for many legacies, including one to Rule, appellant, of $5,000, afterwards reduced to $3,000, and another of $50,000 for a memorial home to the Hicksite Friends in West Chester; the residue of his estate, over one million dollars, was to be placed in trust for the maintenance of this home. The codicil of 1923 authorized the executors to expend as much more of the estate as they deemed necessary to carry out the testator's purpose in the erection of the memorial home.
The will also contained this clause, "Should any one express dissatisfaction with the provisions of this will, he or she shall forfeit his or her interest." A testator may impose a condition of forfeiture of an interest in an estate if the beneficiary contests the will by which it is given, unless the condition is against public policy or the law. The above provision is valid: City of Phila. v. Davis, 1 Whart. 490, 510; Berlin's Est.,
Appellant, six months after probate, with full knowledge of the will's contents and appearance, accepted and received the full amount of his legacy, executed a release "in full satisfaction and payment of all sum or sums of money, legacies and bequests given and bequeathed to us and each of us by the said Nathaniel G. Hickman in his last will and testament . . . . . . and of and from all actions, suits, payments, accounts, reckonings, claims and demands whatsoever, for or by reason thereof," and has not since made any effort or offer to return his legacy.
Without considering the possible effect of this release, it is well settled that where a beneficiary accepts a legacy it is an election to stand by the provisions of the will: Fulton v. Moore,
When a will has been admitted to probate, its validity has been judicially decided, and it can be set aside only by an appeal, being unimpeachable in any other proceeding: Sebik's Est.,
However, where the alteration or alterations in the will are made prior to the execution of the codicil, the will as altered is by the codicil republished and validated: (DeHaven's Est.,
What was the effect of the one change shown to have been made after the execution of the codicil? Originally the will contained a bequest to one Lizzie Parker, a housekeeper. She predeceased the testator and her legacy therefore lapsed, falling into the residue of the estate. When testator subsequently erased Lizzie Parker's name and inserted another, it was not an obliteration but a substitution, and could have no legal effect on the due execution of the will as it related to the charitable bequest in question; the only one who could complain of that act would have been the charity, the residuary legatee. When the Lizzie Parker legacy was annulled it was by death and not by any act of the testator; when he later substituted the name of his then housekeeper for that of Lizzie Parker he took from rather than added to the residuary estate which was to go to charity, and the validity of the charitable bequest could not in any way be disturbed by this circumstance. It was complete in law, both before and after the alteration, and did not need further validation under the statute relating to charitable bequests.
Decree affirmed at cost of appellant. *238