Platt

The trial court impressed a trust in favor of plaintiffs upon certain corporate stock. Defendants have appealed, contending that such relief is barred by the defense of illegality and unclean hands. The facts will be stated in the light most favorable to respondents.

Gladys Platt Pendleton executed her last will on October 15, 1949. After providing for certain specific bequests, the residue was left to her husband, Louis L. Pendleton, and her nephew, Howard C. Platt, in equal shares.

The residue consisted almost entirely of stock in the Folger Coffee Company, which had come to Mrs. Pendleton by inheritance. She wanted all of it to go to her nephew and his children, thus keeping it in what she referred to as the “Platt Blood Line.” The will did not express this wish. The reason therefor follows.

In 1949, Mrs. Pendleton had directed her attorney, Herbert B. Wenig, to prepare a new will. While Wenig was in the process of doing so, Pendleton happened to receive a pamphlet distributed by a New York bank. It discussed the new marital tax deduction provided for in the Federal Revenue Act of 1948. He took this to Wenig’s office and asked him about the advisability of drafting the will…