Estate of Butin

The executors of the estate of Mary Ryerson Butin, deceased, have appealed from two separate orders of partial distribution to Vera V. Ryerson, a niece of the decedent and a legatee under the will. The first order, dated February 28, 1946, distributed to the niece the sum of $12,000. The second order, dated May 11, 1946, distributed to the niece, as residuary legatee, real and personal property, reserving sufficient funds with which to close the administration of the estate, and a sum, "not to exceed" $35,000, for the construction of a monument "to the memory of all those who ... strove to make Madera and Madera County all that it is."

The executors contend that the will of the deceased created a charitable trust of the entire residue of the estate; that the will directed the executors to erect a monument for the purpose indicated, which will cost much more than the residue left in the estate; that the orders are not supported by the evidence, and that the distribution of said properties is in violation of the trust, excessive and void.

The appeals involve the necessity of construing the will to determine whether a valid charitable trust was thereby created to…