In re Estate of Houston
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
201 A.2d 592 (1964)
Henry Houston's attorney-drafted will directed that upon the death of his last surviving child, the trust's principal be distributed equally "to and among my grandchildren." After his last child died, a dispute arose over whether that gift vested in each grandchild at birth (splitting the trust into twelve equal parts, accounting for deceased grandchildren's shares passing to their own estates) or was instead contingent on a grandchild surviving until the triggering event (splitting it into only nine parts among the survivors). The court below ruled the gift vested at birth, and the case was appealed.
Whether a testamentary gift to a class of grandchildren, distributable upon the death of the testator's last surviving child, is vested at each grandchild's birth or is instead contingent on the grandchild surviving until that triggering event, when the will's language does not explicitly limit the gift to grandchildren "then living."