{
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  "name_abbreviation": "Radley v. Wolland",
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    "parties": [
      "In re ESTATE OF BERNICE A. LIGHT, Deceased (David B. Radley, Ex\u2019r, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Donald Wolland et al., Defendants-Appellants)."
    ],
    "opinions": [
      {
        "text": "JUSTICE LYTTON\ndelivered the opinion of the court:\nIn her last will and testament, Bernice Light bequeathed to Donald and Virginia Wolland her two residences \u201cand the contents thereof.\u201d Following Light\u2019s death, the executor of Light\u2019s estate sought instructions from the court regarding what should be done about (1) paper certificates representing securities that were found in one of Light\u2019s homes, and (2) payment of the 2005 and 2006 real estate taxes on the residences Light bequeathed to the Wollands. The trial court ruled that the proceeds from Light\u2019s securities would not go to the Wollands and that the Wollands were responsible for paying the 2005 and 2006 real estate taxes on the residences they received under Light\u2019s will. We affirm.\nBACKGROUND\nIn 1964, Bernice Light hired attorney Carol Baymiller to help her execute her first will and testament. From time to time thereafter, Light instructed Baymiller to prepare new wills for her. When Bay-miller retired, his nephew, David Radley, took over his practice. In 2003, Radley prepared Light\u2019s last will and testament. The pertinent paragraphs of that will state:\n\u201cFIRST: I direct that my Executor hereinafter named *** shall pay all taxes assessed or imposed against my estate or against any beneficiary of my estate, any surviving joint tenant or donee of any gift, that said Executor shall not apportion such tax and shall not have the right, power, authority or duty to recover any portion of any tax from any beneficiary under my will or under any insurance policy that I may own or from any other person, firm or corporation. ***\nSECOND: I give and bequeath *** my residences at 5625 North Sheridan Road, Peoria, Illinois and at 3005 Ash Street, Lake Placid, Florida, and the contents thereof, all personal and chattel property to my friends, DONALD WOLLAND and VIRGINIA WOLLAND\nTHIRD: I give and bequeath my white mink jacket, my autumn haze jacket, and my leather jacket to my friend, DONISE BROWN\nij* sji ijs\nFOURTH: I give and bequeath the sum of three hundred sixty thousand dollars ($360,00.00) in equal shares as a class to: my cousins ***.\n$\u00a1* H*\nSIXTH: All the rest, residue and remainder of my property, after payment of all debts, taxes, bequests, costs of administration and other expenses thereof, I give and bequeath as follows:\nOne-half (Vs) thereof to PEORIA RESCUE MISSION, of Peoria, Illinois;\nOne-half (%) to TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH, 135 N.E. Randolph Avenue, Peoria, Illinois.\u201d\nRadley was named executor of the will.\nIn March 2006, Light passed away. Soon thereafter, Radley filed a petition for probate of Light\u2019s will and letters testamentary.\nIn September 2006, Donald and Virginia Wolland filed a claim against the estate of Bernice Light for costs advanced on behalf of the estate. Those costs included 2005 real estate taxes they paid for 5625 North Sheridan Road, Peoria, Illinois, and 3005 Ash Street, Lake Placid, Florida.\nPaper certificates for various stocks and bonds were found in Light\u2019s Peoria residence. Radley sold the securities represented by the certificates for $98,595.40. In September 2006, Radley filed a petition for instructions to determine what should be done with the proceeds of the securities. In January 2007, Radley filed a supplement to the petition for instructions asking whether the executor should pay all or any part of the 2005 and 2006 real estate taxes for the Peoria and Florida residences that Light bequeathed to the Wollands.\nAt a hearing in June 2007, Radley testified that the language in the first paragraph of Light\u2019s will \u201ccan be found in virtually all of the wills prepared, and it was not invented by me certainly when I prepared this will, but it was adopted from previous wills of Bernice Light\u2019s that Carol Baymiller had originated.\u201d According to Radley, that language was \u201crather boilerplate\u201d and was intended to address the Illinois inheritance tax and the federal estate tax, not real estate taxes.\nRadley also testified that Light wanted the Wollands to receive the tangible contents of her homes. Thus, when Radley drafted the second paragraph of the will, his intent was that the Wollands receive tangible property found in the residences but not intangible property.\nThe trial court ruled that the phrase \u201call taxes\u201d in Light\u2019s will did not include real estate taxes. The court also ruled that Light intended for the securities represented by certificates found in her Peoria home to be distributed to the charities pursuant to the residuary clause in the will.\nANALYSIS\nA court\u2019s primaiy objective when construing a will is to give effect to the testator\u2019s intent. In re Estate of Miller, 230 Ill. App. 3d 141, 145, 595 N.E.2d 630, 632-33 (1992). A court must ascertain the testator\u2019s intent from the terms of the will. Miller, 230 Ill. App. 3d at 145, 595 N.E.2d at 633.\nWords used in a will are construed according to their plain and ordinary meanings. Sverid v. First National Bank of Evergreen Park, 295 Ill. App. 3d 919, 922, 693 N.E.2d 423, 424 (1998). Courts are charged with ascertaining a testator\u2019s intent by, wherever possible, giving effect to every word, phrase and clause in a will. Sverid, 295 Ill. App. 3d at 922, 693 N.E.2d at 424-25. While the language itself is the best proof of the testator\u2019s intent, when an ambiguity exists, extrinsic evidence may be used to determine the testator\u2019s intent. Cain v. Finnie, 337 Ill. App. 3d 318, 320, 785 N.E.2d 1039, 1041 (2003); Miller, 230 Ill. App. 3d at 146, 595 N.E.2d at 633.\nI\nThe Wollands contend that Light\u2019s bequest of \u201call personal and chattel property\u201d contained in her homes includes intangible property found in the residences, such as stock certificates. Peoria Rescue Mission, Trinity Lutheran Church and Radley respond that the bequest only included tangible property.\nNo Illinois court has construed the phrase \u201cpersonal and chattel property\u201d in a will. However, Illinois courts have separately interpreted the terms \u201cchattel\u201d and \u201cpersonal property\u201d and similar words and phrases.\nIn Illinois, the term \u201cchattel\u201d extends only to tangible articles of personal property that may be possessed and delivered; it does not include securities. See City of Nokomis v. Smith, 74 Ill. App. 2d 211, 212-13, 219 N.E.2d 776, 777 (1966), citing Davis v. Hincke, 264 Ill. 46, 105 N.E. 708 (1914); In re Estate of Berman, 39 Ill. App. 2d 175, 179, 187 N.E.2d 541, 544 (1963). When a testator conjoins a bequest of \u201cchattel\u201d to another bequest, this indicates an intent to convey only tangible property. See Sverid, 295 Ill. App. 3d at 923, 693 N.E.2d at 425 (bequest of \u201call my personal effects *** and all other goods and chattels\u201d showed decedent\u2019s desire to convey only tangible personal property).\nLikewise, Illinois courts have construed \u201cpersonal property\u201d and similar terms to include only tangible personal property. See In re Estate of Lindsey, 13 Ill. App. 3d 717, 718, 300 N.E.2d 572, 573 (1973) (\u201cpersonal property in or about said [mjotel\u201d did not include money in motel bank account); see also Sverid, 295 Ill. App. 3d at 923, 693 N.E.2d at 425 (bequest of \u201cpersonal effects\u201d includes only tangible personal property); Landstrom v. Krettler, 105 Ill. App. 3d 863, 866, 435 N.E.2d 149, 151-52 (1982) (same); Mokros v. Blackman, 312 Ill. App. 346, 353-54, 38 N.E.2d 514, 516 (1941) (same).\nThe expression \u201cpersonal property\u201d is ordinarily and popularly used in a restrictive sense embracing only tangible goods and chattel, not money, notes or securities. Blakeman v. Harwell, 198 Ga. 165, 176, 31 S.E.2d 50, 56-57 (1944); Bryant v. Bryant, 129 Me. 251, 257-58, 151 A. 429, 432 (1930). Thus, courts generally hold that a bequest of \u201cpersonal property\u201d does not include intangible property, such as securities. See Turner v. Reed, 258 Va. 406, 518 S.E.2d 832 (1999); Estate of McKenna, 340 Pa. Super. 105, 489 A.2d 862 (1985); LeRoy v. Kirk, 262 Md. 276, 277 A.2d 611 (1971); Estate of Whetmath, 216 Cal. App. 2d 430, 30 Cal. Rptr. 875 (1963); Wachovia Bank & Trust Co. v. Wolfe, 245 N.C. 535, 96 S.E.2d 690 (1957); Blakeman v. Harwell, 198 Ga. 165, 31 S.E.2d 50 (1944).\nCourts are particularly reluctant to find that a bequest of \u201cpersonal property\u201d includes intangible property when it includes a description of the property by location, e.g., \u201clocated in my house.\u201d See LeRoy v. Kirk, 262 Md. 276, 283, 277 A.2d 611, 614 (1971); Cameron v. Frazer, 187 Md. 368, 374, 50 A.2d 243, 246 (1946); Bryant, 129 Me. at 257-58, 151 A. at 431-32; see also Lindsey, 13 Ill. App. 3d at 718, 300 N.E.2d at 573. In finding that a bequest of \u201cpersonal property belonging to me in the home\u201d did not include bonds, the Maine Supreme Court explained:\n\u201cWhen we speak of personal property in a \u2018home,\u2019 the mind more naturally visualizes books, pictures, furnishings, furniture, and all such things as are generally found in and contribute to the enjoyment and utility of one\u2019s abode. To extend the meaning of the words \u2018personal property\u2019 so as to include rights and credits is neither easy nor natural.\u201d Bryant, 129 Me. at 258, 151 A. at 432.\nHere, Light conveyed to the Wollands her residences \u201cand the contents thereof, all personal and chattel property.\u201d Based on the plain language of this bequest, the trial court properly concluded that Light intended the Wollands to receive only the tangible property found in her residences and not her securities. See Sverid, 295 Ill. App. 3d at 923, 693 N.E.2d at 425; Lindsey, 13 Ill. App. 3d at 718, 300 N.E.2d at 573.\nEven if we were to find the phrase \u201cpersonal and chattel property\u201d was ambiguous, extrinsic evidence established that Light\u2019s intent was to leave the Wollands only tangible property. According to Radley, Light did not discuss leaving any stocks or securities to the Wollands. Thus, the trial court properly concluded that Light intended that the Wollands receive the tangible personalty found in her homes and that the residue of her estate, including all stocks and securities, would go to the two charities named in the residuary clause of her will. See McKenna, 340 Pa. Super. at 115, 489 A.2d at 868.\nII\nThe Wollands argue that Light\u2019s will expressly required Radley to pay from the proceeds of the estate the 2005 and 2006 real estate taxes for the residences bequeathed to them.\nReal estate taxes constitute a lien against the property on which the taxes have been assessed. Forman Realty Corp. v. Brenza, 11 Ill. 2d 531, 540, 144 N.E.2d 623, 628 (1957); Gamble v. People, 117 Ill. App. 3d 784, 786, 454 N.E.2d 26, 27 (1983); 35 ILCS 200/21 \u2014 75 (West 2006). Real estate taxes are an encumbrance on real property. 755 ILCS 5/1 \u2014 2.07 (West 2006). When real estate subject to an encumbrance is bequeathed, the legatee takes the property subject to the encumbrance and is not entitled to have the indebtedness paid from the decedent\u2019s estate. 755 ILCS 5/20 \u2014 19 (West 2006).\nHere, the Wollands were bequeathed Light\u2019s real estate. The 2005 and 2006 real estate taxes constituted encumbrances upon the properties. See 755 ILCS 5/1 \u2014 2.07 (West 2006). The Wollands, as the owners of the properties, were responsible for paying the real estate taxes unless Light expressly provided for payment of the taxes out of her estate. See 755 ILCS 5/20 \u2014 19(a) (West 2006); Griffin v. Gould, 72 Ill. App. 3d 747, 749, 391 N.E.2d 124, 125 (1979).\nIn her will, Light directed her executor to pay \u201call taxes assessed or imposed against my estate or against any beneficiary of my estate.\u201d The real estate taxes on the properties bequeathed to the Wollands do not fall within this mandate because the real estate taxes were assessed and imposed against the real property, not against Light\u2019s estate or the Wollands. See Gamble, 117 Ill. App. 3d at 786, 454 N.E.2d at 27. Thus, according to the plain language of Light\u2019s will, the Wollands are responsible for paying the 2005 and 2006 real estate taxes on the properties that Light bequeathed to them.\nCONCLUSION\nThe judgment of the circuit court of Peoria County is affirmed.\nAffirmed.\nMcDADE, RJ., and WRIGHT, J., concur.",
        "type": "majority",
        "author": "JUSTICE LYTTON"
      }
    ],
    "attorneys": [
      "Gerald W Brady (argued), of Brady & Donahue, of Peoria, for appellants.",
      "David B. Radley (argued), of Peoria, appellee pro se.",
      "Jeffrey B. Rock (argued), of Hasselberg, Rock, Bell & Kuppler, of Peoria, for appellee Trinity Lutheran Church.",
      "Darrell E. Dies, of Eureka, for appellee Peoria Rescue Mission."
    ],
    "corrections": "",
    "head_matter": "In re ESTATE OF BERNICE A. LIGHT, Deceased (David B. Radley, Ex\u2019r, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Donald Wolland et al., Defendants-Appellants).\nThird District\nNo. 3\u201407\u20140688\nOpinion filed September 5, 2008.\nGerald W Brady (argued), of Brady & Donahue, of Peoria, for appellants.\nDavid B. Radley (argued), of Peoria, appellee pro se.\nJeffrey B. Rock (argued), of Hasselberg, Rock, Bell & Kuppler, of Peoria, for appellee Trinity Lutheran Church.\nDarrell E. Dies, of Eureka, for appellee Peoria Rescue Mission."
  },
  "file_name": "0196-01",
  "first_page_order": 212,
  "last_page_order": 217
}
