TRUSTS-LANGUAGE OF CONDITION IN INTER VIVOS CONVEYANCE CONSTRUED AS A TRUST

Authors

Bruce L. Moore, University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow

Abstract

Grantor conveyed certain real property to plaintiff by deed "subject to the following conditions: That upon my death, the Grantee must pay to my Grand Children out of my estate, the sums of money indicated after each name," the amount to be paid totaling $5,000. By this deed grantor transferred practically all of the property of which she was possessed, so that upon her death she left an estate of but $100. Without having paid any part of the amount stipulated in the deed, grantee commenced suit to quiet title as against the named grandchildren, who in .turn counterclaimed. In awarding judgment for defendants, the court construed the transaction as a contract for the benefit of third parties--the named grandchildren. On appeal, held, the transaction should be construed as a trust for the benefit of the named grandchildren. The "estate" out of which the grantee was to pay the money could mean only the property conveyed, and the transaction therefore satisfied the essential elements of a trust. Sutherland v. Pierner, 249 Wis. 462, 24 N.W. (2d) 883 (1946).

Recommended Citation

Bruce L. Moore, TRUSTS-LANGUAGE OF CONDITION IN INTER VIVOS CONVEYANCE CONSTRUED AS A TRUST, 45 Mich. L. Rev. 1067 (1947).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol45/iss8/16