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155 Pa. 503

McCune v. Baker

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Decided May 22, 1893

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · decided 1893-05-22

Appeal, No. 180, Jan. T., 1892, by defendant, James Calvin Baker, trustee under will of David Baker, deceased, from judgment of C. P. Cumberland Co., in favor of E. J. McCune, executor of Amanda Baker, deceased, on case stated. Case stated to determine ownership of legacy under will of David R. Baker, deceased.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1893-05-22

How this case has been cited

Cited by 9 later decisions — most recently April 1979

9 state decisions

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Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Per, Curiam,

¶1We agree with the court below in the effect of the will of David R. Baker. He gave by apt words to his daughter the sum of five hundred dollars, adding these directions, “ to be placed in the hands of James Calvin Baker my son for the use of her during her lifetime, and to act as her trustee.” The contention of the appellant is that these words reduced her interest in the gift from an absolute to a life estate. But it is to be noticed that no separate use is created. No active duties are imposed upon the trustee. No gift over to take effect on her death is made. Without the words that create the trust the gift is absolute beyond all question; but the trust is dry, and in the absence of a gift over the effect of tbe gift to his daughter is to be determined as though the testator had made no direction about the custody of the fund during her life. The words of gift are “ I give, devise and bequeath to my daughter *505Amanda F. Baker five hundred dollars.” The effect of these words is clear. They gave an absolute estate. This estate was not reduced to one for life by the added direction creating a dry trust.

¶2The judgment is affirmed.

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