Mary Jane Ward v. De Witt Clinton Ward, Appellant, De Witt Clinton Ward…

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals held that the testator's will and codicil together created a valid trust despite lacking explicit trust language, that the executors were deemed trustees when their duties were active, and that a provision suspending alienation beyond two lives violated the rule against perpetuities and was void. Consequently, the residuary estate was ordered to be distributed under the statutes of intestacy. The judgment was modified and affirmed.