In re Estate of Fair

The question presented in this case for decision by the court is, When should the trustee appointed by the will pay to the petitioner under its terms the $500,000 therein primarily allotted to his brother, James G. Fair, Jr., as his portion of the estate of Theresa Fair, deceased, their mother, the said James having died long before his portion or that of Charles could by the terms of the will become due and payable had James lived?

The petitioner claims that under the will the portion allotted to James should be paid at once to him, while the respondents contend that immediate payment thereof is forbidden by its terms, and that the trustees cannot comply with the demands of the petitioner without violating their trust as defined by the testatrix in her will.

The petitioner, Charles L. Fair, bases his claim of the right to have paid to him without delay the share primarily allotted to James upon two clauses of the will as follows:

The will of the testatrix reads in full as follows:

Attestation clause and witnesses’ subscription follow in due form of law.

The intention of the testatrix, as gathered from the whole scheme of the will and all its provisions, must prevail; and…