| I, GEORGE HERMAN
RUTH, being of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding,
but mindful of the uncertainty of life, do hereby make, declare
and publish this to be my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking
all other wills and codicils thereto be me at any time heretofore
made.
FIRST: I direct
my Executors hereinafter named to pay all my just debts and funeral
expenses as soon after my death as may be practicable.
SECOND: I give
and bequeath to my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, if she shall survive me,
all my household furniture, automobiles with the appurtenances thereto,
paintings, works of art, books, china, glassware, silverware, linens,
household furnishings and equipment of any kind, clothing, jewelry,
articles of personal wear and adornment and personal effects, excepting
however, souvenirs, mementoes, pictures, scrap-books, manuscripts,
letters, athletic equipment and other personal property pertaining
to baseball. In the event that my wife, Clara Mae Ruth shall not
survive me, I direct my Executors hereinafter named to divide the
said property between my daughters, DOROTHY RUTH SULLIVAN and JULIA
RUTH FLANDERS, as my said daughters may agree, or in the event they
are unable to agree, to divide the said property between my said
daughters as my Executors hereinafter named may, in their absolute
discretion determine. The determination of my Executors as to the
relative values of such property for the purpose of dividing the
same and in the making of such distribution shall be final, conclusive
and binding upon all persons interested herein.
THIRD: I give
and bequeath to my Executors hereinafter named or either of them
who may qualify, all my souvenirs, mementoes, pictures, scrap-books,
manuscripts, letters, athletic equipment and other personal property
pertaining to baseball, and I request but do not direct my said
Executors to divide the same among such persons, corporations and
organizations as I may from time to time request or in such manner
as they in their sole and uncontrolled discretion may deem proper
and fitting.
FOURTH: I give
and bequeath to my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, if she shall survive me,
to my daughter, DOROTHY RUTH SULLIVAN, if she shall survive me,
and to my daughter, JULIA RUTH FLANDERS, if she shall survive me,
each the sum of Five Thousand ($5,000.) Dollars.
FIFTH: I give
and bequeath to my sister, MARY H. MOBERLY, now residing in Baltimore,
Maryland, if she shall survive me, the sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000.)
Dollars.
SIXTH: I give
and bequeath to FRANK DELANEY, providing he is in my employ at the
time of my death, and to MARY REITH, providing she is in my employ
at the time of my death, each the sum of Five Hundred ($500.) Dollars.
SEVENTH: Under
the provisions of a certain Indenture or Trust Agreement made and
executed by and between me and the President and Directors of The
Manhattan Company of 40 Wall Street, Borough of Manhattan, City
of New York, dated the 26th day of April, 1927, I reserved the right
to designate in and by my last will and testament a new beneficiary
to whom the income or principal of the trust fund which is the subject
of the said Trust Agreement, shall be paid after my death in the
place and stead of my daughter, Dorothy Ruth Sullivan, and my next
of kin. Pursuant to such reserved right and in the exercise thereof,
I hereby declare and direct that the income and principal of the
said trust shall be paid after my death as follows:
A. The income
of the said trust fund shall be paid to my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH,
during the term of said trust or the life of my said wife, CLARA
MAE RUTH, whichever may be the shorter period. After the death of
my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, the income of the said trust during the
remainder of the term thereof shall be divided equally between my
daughters, DOROTHY RUTH SULLIVAN and JULIA RUTH FLANDERS. If JULIA
RUTH FLANDERS shal be deceased, the income which she would have
received had she been alive, shall be paid to her issue per stirpes
and not per capita, or if there be no issue of said JULIA RUTH FLANDERS
then living, all of the income of the said trust shall be paid to
my daughter, DOROTHY RUTH SULLIVAN.
B. Upon the
termination of the said trust during the lifetime of my wife, CLARA
MAE RUTH, I direct the Trustee thereof to purchase from an insuranc
ecompany authorized to do business in the State of New York, a refund
annuity which will pay to my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, during her lifetime,
in equal monthly installments the annual amount of Six Thousand
($6,000.) Dollars, and I further direct the Trustee of the said
trust to divide the remainder of the principal of the said trust
fund, including any refund payable upon the annuity hereinbefore
required to be purchased for the benefit of my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH,
into two (2) equal parts; and
(1) To pay one
of such equal parts to the issue then living of my daughter, DOROTHY
RUTH SULLIVAN, or if she shall leave no issue then surviving, among
such persons and in such manner as she may be her last will and
testament direct; and
(2) To pay the
other of such equal parts to my daughter, JULIA RUTH FLANDERS, if
she be then living, or if she be not living, to her issue then surviving,
or if she shall leave no issue then surviving, among such persons
and in such manner as she may by her last will and testament direct.
EIGHTH: All
the rest, residue and remainder of my property and estate, real,
personal and mixed, of whatsoever kind, nature or description and
wheresoever situate, of which I may die seized and/or possessed
or over which I may have any power of disposition or to which I
or my estate may be entitled, I give devise and bequeath to my Trustees
hereinafter named IN TRUST NEVERTHELESS for the following uses and
purposes:
A. To collect
and receive the rents, income and profits thereof and to pay the
same to my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, as long as she shall live. B. Upon
the death of my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, or upon my death, if she shall
predecease me, I direct my Trustees to pay over, transfer, convey
and deliver the principal then remaining in the said trust as follows:
(1) Ten percent
(10%) thereof to THE BABE RUTH FOUNDATION, INC., a corporation organized
under the Membership Corporations Law of the State of New York and
dedicated to the interests of the kids of America. (2) Forty-five
percent (45%) thereof to my daughter, DOROTHY RUTH SULLIVAN, if
she be then alive, or if she be not then alive, to her then surviving
issue per stirpes and not per capita, or if she leave no issue then
surviving, to such persons and in such manner as she may by her
last will and testament direct. (3) Forty-five percent (45%) thereof
to my daughter, JULIA RUTH FLANDERS, if she be then alive, or if
she be not then alive, to her then surviving issue per stirpes and
not per capita, or if she leave no issue then surviving, to such
persons and in such manner as she by her last will and testament
direct.
NINTH: I nominate,
constitute and appoint J. PAUL CAREY, II and MELVYN GORDON LOWENSTEIN,
and the survivor of them, as Executors of and Trustees under this
my Last Will and Testament. Within ninety (90) days from the date
upon which one of the above named Executors or Trustees shall first
act as sole Executor or sole Trustee of this my Last Will and testament,
I direct him, by an instrument in writing duly signed and acknowledged
and suitable for recording in the State of New York, to appoint
a bank or a trust company which has conducted active business operations
in the State of New York for at least 25 years, or which is the
successor to a bank or trust company organized under the laws of
the State of New York or the United States of America more than
25 years prior to the date of such appointment, to be and become
a co-Executor and/or a co-Trustee. In the event that such sole acting
Executor or sole acting Trustee shall not have appointed a bank
or a trust company as co-Executor or Co-Trustee hereunder, as hereinabove
directed and within the period hereinabove specified, then I nominate,
constitute and appoint THE CHASE NATIONAL BANK OF THE CITY OF NEW
YORK, as co-Executor and co-Trustee of this my Last Will and Testament.
TENTH: I direct
that if and when any part of the principal or income of any share
or portion of my estate shall become payable to any beneficiary
who is an infant, such principal or income shall absolutely vest
in and belong to such infant, but payment thereof may be deferred,
and I authorize my Executors and Trustees, as the case may be, in
their sole and uncontrolled discretion, to hold the share of such
infant and to retain the custody and control thereof and to administer
the same and invest and reinvest such share or portion and the accumulated
income therefrom, if any, with all the powers granted in this my
Last Will and Testament to the Executors and Trustees, and my Executors
and Trustees are further directed to apply such part of the income
and principal thereof as in their discretion they may deem necessary
and proper for the maintenance, support and education of such infant
during minority, and upon such infant attaining majority, to pay
over to such infant whatever part of such principal and income and
any accumulated income thereon which may then remain in the hands
of my said Executors or Trustees, as the case may be. Such application
of principal or income, in the discretion of my said Executors or
Trustees may be made wholly or in part by said Executors or Trustees
paying directly the expenses for the maintenance, support and education
of such infant, or by paying such principal or income to such infant
or to an adult person of my Executors' or Trustees' selection deemed
by them to be the most likely person to make proper application
of such principal or income for the infant's benefit; the receipt
of the person to whom such payment is made to be a sufficient voucher
and discharge to my said Executors or Trustees, as the case may
be, for all payments so made by them.
ELEVENTH: In
addition to the powers conferred upon my Executors and Trustees
by law, or herein elsewhere conferred upon them, I hereby authorize
and empower them and successors (a) to retain any investments which
I may have at the time of my death, and to invest and reinvest any
trusts funds coming into their hands in any stocks, bonds, securities
or other property, real or personal, which they in their discretion
deem advisable, whether such investments be authorized by the laws
of any state or jurisdiction or not, and to hold the same as long
as they may deem advisable, with full power to sell and reinvest,
and to change securities and investments as they deem best; (b)
for the purpose of partitioning or distributing the funds of my
estate, and for any other purpose whatsoever, to grant, bargain,
sell, convey, mortgage, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of,
as and when they or their successors may deem expedient, any and
all property, real, personal or mixed, of which I may be seized
or possessed or in or to which I may be in any manner interested
or entitled at the time of my death, or of which they may be seized
or possessed, entitled to or interested in, as my Executors or Trustees,
and upon such disposition thereof, to execute, acknowledge and deliver
all necessary and proper deeds or instruments of conveyance for
the vesting in the purchases, mortgagee, lessee, or other transferee
thereof, the title thereto, in fee or otherwise, and I hereby direct
that upon any such disposition thereof, my Executors or Trustees,
or the successors of any of them, may take the consideration agreed
upon, wholly or partly, in cash, stocks, bonds, notes or any securities
which they or their successors shall determine upon, and I expressly
direct that no purchases, mortgagee, lessee, or other transferee
thereof shall be bound to see to the application of money or other
thing of value paid or given therefor; (c) whenever my Executors
or Trustees, or the successors of any of them, are required, or
shall determine to divide the principal of my estate held by them
into shares, so to divide the same without converting it into money,
but in their discretion by apportioning the property held, whether
the same shall be producing income or not, to such different parts
or shares, in such manner as they shall deem fairly and equitably
to bring about the division directed or determined upon, the judgment
of my said Executors or Trustees concerning the priority of any
allotment or distribution of property hereunder shall be final and
binding upon all persons interested in my estate, and the determination
of my Executors or Trustees as to the value of any such property
shall be presumptively correct and shall be final and binding upon
all persons in interest, unless clear and convincing proof is adduced
showing gross error on the part of my said Executors or Trustees;
(d) to consent to and participate in the reorganization, consolidation,
merger or other capital readjustment of any corporation, the stocks,
bonds or other securities of which they may hold, and to do all
things whatsoever necessary, advisable or expedient to enable them
to secure the benefits of such reorganization, consolidation, merger
or other capital readjustment, including particularly the sale or
purchase of any rights incident thereto, and the payment of any
amounts necessary. Investments made through the exercise of any
such rights, or the proceeds received at the sale thereof, shall
be considered principal.
I also further
authorize my Executors or Trustees, as the case may be, to vote
upon and give proxies to vote upon, any stocks or bonds of corporations
that may be owned by me at the time of my death or subsequently
acquired by them, upon any question that may lawfully be submitted
to the vote of the stockholders or bondholders of such corporation,
and in their discretion to subject any such stocks to voting trust
agreements, and to accept voting trust certificates in exchange
therefor. It is my will and intention that in dealing with the affairs
and securities of any corporation in which I shall be interested
at the time of my death, either as creditor or stockholder, or with
the affairs and securities of any corporation in which my Executors
or Trustees, as the case may be, may at any time be interested on
behalf of my estate, as creditors or stockholders, my said Executors
or Trustees, as the case may be, shall have and may exercise all
of the powers that might lawfully be exercised by an individual
owning said stock or obligation and acting in his own right and
interest.
The Trustees
shall be authorized to hold such sum or sums uninvested as they
shall see fit.
The Trustees
may hold the trust estate or any part thereof as an undivided whole,
without separation as between the trusts hereby created, but no
such holding shall defer the vesting of any estate in possession,
or otherwise, according to the terms hereof.
The Trustees
are hereby authorized and empowered to employ such person or persons
to assist them in the management and administration of the estate,
in an advisory capacity or otherwise, as they shall deem in their
sole discretion to be for the best interests of the trust estate
and to fix and pay the compensation therefor.
I direct that
my Executors and Trustees shall not be required to lay apart any
portion of the income or any of the said trust funds for the purpose
of keeping the principal thereof intact, or for the purpose of making
good any amount paid in premiums on the purchase of securities.
All cash dividends
or other cash distributions received from any mining stocks or other
wasting investments whether or not of the same kind (notwithstanding
such cash dividends or distributions may have been designated or
described by the disburser thereof to be in whole or in part a return
of capital or a distribution from depletion reserves and whether
or not they may be extraordinary dividends or distributions), shall
be treated as income without setting apart any portions of such
dividends or distributions to maintain intact the principal of any
trust fund provided for hereunder. All extraordinary stock dividends
and all realized appreciation in the value of stocks, bonds, securities
or other property, resulting from the sale or other disposition
thereof, shall be considered principal and not income, but ordinary
stock dividends paid regularly by a corporation in lieu of, or in
addition to regular cash dividends shall be considered income and
not principal, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that the Trustees' determination
as to whether any dividend should be apportioned or allocated in
whole or in part to principal or income, shall be conclusive and
binding upon all persons now or hereafter interested in the trust
estate.
I hereby expressly
declare that my Executors or Trustees, as the case may be, whichever
shall assume to act in the premises, shall have full power to settle
and determine all questions which may arise as to my estate, including
the power to settle, adjust, compromise or refer to arbitration,
any and all claims in favor or or against my estate and to receive
and make payment thereof according to such arbitration, settlement,
adjustment and compromise, and all the acts of said Executors and/or
Trustees in that regard shall be final and conclusive.
I further direct
that no bond, undertaking or other security whatsoever, shall be
required of my Executors and Trustees, or their successors in any
jurisdiction whatsoever, for the discharge of any of their duties
hereunder, or for or upon the doing any act which they are empowered
to do under or by virtue of the provisions of this my Last Will,
or under or by virtue of any law or authority whatsoever.
Except as otherwise
herein provided, all of the powers and authority herein conferred,
including discretionary power, may be exercised by such of my Executors
and Trustees as may qualify, and by the survivor, survivors and
successors of them.
The words ``income''
and ``profits'' as used in this my Last Will are not intended to
include profits realized upon the sale of any of the assets constituting
the principal of my estate. Such profits are to treated as accretions
to principal.
In the event
that any person named as a legatee under this my Last Will and Testament
shall die simultaneously with me, or in or as a result of a common
disaster, or in the event that there may be a question as to the
survivorship of such person or myself, then for all purposes and
intents under this my Last Will and Testament such person shall
be deemed to have predeceased me.
TWELFTH: I direct
that any Federal or state income tax which may become due from my
estate by reason of the profits or accretions which shall accrue
to the principal of any trust fund hereunder shall be paid by my
Trustees out of the principal of such trust fund and shall not be
charged against or paid from the income of any beneficiary of any
trust fund under this my Last Will.
THIRTEENTH:
I direct that all estate, transfer, succession, inheritance, legacy
and similar taxes upon or with respect to so much of my estate as
passes by, through or under Paragraphs SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH,
SIXTH and EIGHTH of this my Last Will, shall be paid out of my residuary
estate and there shall be no proration of any such taxes, and I
further direct that so much of such estate, transfer, succession,
inheritance, legacy and similar taxes as may be assessed against
my estate by reason of the inclusion for estate tax purposes of
the trust referred to under Paragraph SEVENTH of this my Last Will,
or any other assets not passing by, through or under this my Last
Will, shall be apportioned to such trust and assets and shall be
charged to and paid therefrom.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF,
I have hereunto to this, my Last Will and Testament, set my hand
and seal this 9th day of August, in the year One Thousand, Nine
Hundred and Forty-eight.
George Herman
Ruth (L.S.
In the presence
of:
Dorothy Henderson
Herbert P. Polk F. Van S. Parr, Jr.
SEALED, SUBSCRIBED,
PUBLISHED AND DECLARED by the above named Testator, George Herman
Ruth, as and for his Last Will and Testament, in the presence of
us, and of each of us, who at his request and in his presence and
in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names
as witneses the day and year last above written; this clause having
first been read to us and we having noted and hereby certifying
that the matters herein stated took place in fact and in the order
herein stated.
Dorothy Henderson
residing at 520A -9th Street Brooklyn, N.Y.
Herbert P. Polk
residing at 205 W. 89 Street New York, N.Y.
F. Van S. Parr,
Jr. residing at 23 Woodland Way Manhasset, N.Y.
[EDITOR'S NOTE:
The following is the will of baseball legend Babe Ruth.]
I, GEORGE HERMAN
RUTH, being of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding,
but mindful of the uncertainty of life, do hereby make, declare
and publish this to be my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking
all other wills and codicils thereto be me at any time heretofore
made.
FIRST: I direct
my Executors hereinafter named to pay all my just debts and funeral
expenses as soon after my death as may be practicable.
SECOND: I give
and bequeath to my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, if she shall survive me,
all my household furniture, automobiles with the appurtenances thereto,
paintings, works of art, books, china, glassware, silverware, linens,
household furnishings and equipment of any kind, clothing, jewelry,
articles of personal wear and adornment and personal effects, excepting
however, souvenirs, mementoes, pictures, scrap-books, manuscripts,
letters, athletic equipment and other personal property pertaining
to baseball. In the event that my wife, Clara Mae Ruth shall not
survive me, I direct my Executors hereinafter named to divide the
said property between my daughters, DOROTHY RUTH SULLIVAN and JULIA
RUTH FLANDERS, as my said daughters may agree, or in the event they
are unable to agree, to divide the said property between my said
daughters as my Executors hereinafter named may, in their absolute
discretion determine. The determination of my Executors as to the
relative values of such property for the purpose of dividing the
same and in the making of such distribution shall be final, conclusive
and binding upon all persons interested herein.
THIRD: I give
and bequeath to my Executors hereinafter named or either of them
who may qualify, all my souvenirs, mementoes, pictures, scrap-books,
manuscripts, letters, athletic equipment and other personal property
pertaining to baseball, and I request but do not direct my said
Executors to divide the same among such persons, corporations and
organizations as I may from time to time request or in such manner
as they in their sole and uncontrolled discretion may deem proper
and fitting.
FOURTH: I give
and bequeath to my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, if she shall survive me,
to my daughter, DOROTHY RUTH SULLIVAN, if she shall survive me,
and to my daughter, JULIA RUTH FLANDERS, if she shall survive me,
each the sum of Five Thousand ($5,000.) Dollars.
FIFTH: I give
and bequeath to my sister, MARY H. MOBERLY, now residing in Baltimore,
Maryland, if she shall survive me, the sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000.)
Dollars.
SIXTH: I give
and bequeath to FRANK DELANEY, providing he is in my employ at the
time of my death, and to MARY REITH, providing she is in my employ
at the time of my death, each the sum of Five Hundred ($500.) Dollars.
SEVENTH: Under
the provisions of a certain Indenture or Trust Agreement made and
executed by and between me and the President and Directors of The
Manhattan Company of 40 Wall Street, Borough of Manhattan, City
of New York, dated the 26th day of April, 1927, I reserved the right
to designate in and by my last will and testament a new beneficiary
to whom the income or principal of the trust fund which is the subject
of the said Trust Agreement, shall be paid after my death in the
place and stead of my daughter, Dorothy Ruth Sullivan, and my next
of kin. Pursuant to such reserved right and in the exercise thereof,
I hereby declare and direct that the income and principal of the
said trust shall be paid after my death as follows:
A. The income
of the said trust fund shall be paid to my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH,
during the term of said trust or the life of my said wife, CLARA
MAE RUTH, whichever may be the shorter period. After the death of
my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, the income of the said trust during the
remainder of the term thereof shall be divided equally between my
daughters, DOROTHY RUTH SULLIVAN and JULIA RUTH FLANDERS. If JULIA
RUTH FLANDERS shal be deceased, the income which she would have
received had she been alive, shall be paid to her issue per stirpes
and not per capita, or if there be no issue of said JULIA RUTH FLANDERS
then living, all of the income of the said trust shall be paid to
my daughter, DOROTHY RUTH SULLIVAN.
B. Upon the
termination of the said trust during the lifetime of my wife, CLARA
MAE RUTH, I direct the Trustee thereof to purchase from an insuranc
ecompany authorized to do business in the State of New York, a refund
annuity which will pay to my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, during her lifetime,
in equal monthly installments the annual amount of Six Thousand
($6,000.) Dollars, and I further direct the Trustee of the said
trust to divide the remainder of the principal of the said trust
fund, including any refund payable upon the annuity hereinbefore
required to be purchased for the benefit of my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH,
into two (2) equal parts; and
(1) To pay one
of such equal parts to the issue then living of my daughter, DOROTHY
RUTH SULLIVAN, or if she shall leave no issue then surviving, among
such persons and in such manner as she may be her last will and
testament direct; and
(2) To pay the
other of such equal parts to my daughter, JULIA RUTH FLANDERS, if
she be then living, or if she be not living, to her issue then surviving,
or if she shall leave no issue then surviving, among such persons
and in such manner as she may by her last will and testament direct.
EIGHTH: All
the rest, residue and remainder of my property and estate, real,
personal and mixed, of whatsoever kind, nature or description and
wheresoever situate, of which I may die seized and/or possessed
or over which I may have any power of disposition or to which I
or my estate may be entitled, I give devise and bequeath to my Trustees
hereinafter named IN TRUST NEVERTHELESS for the following uses and
purposes:
A. To collect
and receive the rents, income and profits thereof and to pay the
same to my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, as long as she shall live. B. Upon
the death of my wife, CLARA MAE RUTH, or upon my death, if she shall
predecease me, I direct my Trustees to pay over, transfer, convey
and deliver the principal then remaining in the said trust as follows:
(1) Ten percent
(10%) thereof to THE BABE RUTH FOUNDATION, INC., a corporation organized
under the Membership Corporations Law of the State of New York and
dedicated to the interests of the kids of America.
(2) Forty-five percent (45%) thereof to my daughter, DOROTHY RUTH
SULLIVAN, if she be then alive, or if she be not then alive, to
her then surviving issue per stirpes and not per capita, or if she
leave no issue then surviving, to such persons and in such manner
as she may by her last will and testament direct.
(3) Forty-five percent (45%) thereof to my daughter, JULIA RUTH
FLANDERS, if she be then alive, or if she be not then alive, to
her then surviving issue per stirpes and not per capita, or if she
leave no issue then surviving, to such persons and in such manner
as she by her last will and testament direct.
NINTH: I nominate,
constitute and appoint J. PAUL CAREY, II and MELVYN GORDON LOWENSTEIN,
and the survivor of them, as Executors of and Trustees under this
my Last Will and Testament. Within ninety (90) days from the date
upon which one of the above named Executors or Trustees shall first
act as sole Executor or sole Trustee of this my Last Will and testament,
I direct him, by an instrument in writing duly signed and acknowledged
and suitable for recording in the State of New York, to appoint
a bank or a trust company which has conducted active business operations
in the State of New York for at least 25 years, or which is the
successor to a bank or trust company organized under the laws of
the State of New York or the United States of America more than
25 years prior to the date of such appointment, to be and become
a co-Executor and/or a co-Trustee. In the event that such sole acting
Executor or sole acting Trustee shall not have appointed a bank
or a trust company as co-Executor or Co-Trustee hereunder, as hereinabove
directed and within the period hereinabove specified, then I nominate,
constitute and appoint THE CHASE NATIONAL BANK OF THE CITY OF NEW
YORK, as co-Executor and co-Trustee of this my Last Will and Testament.
TENTH: I direct
that if and when any part of the principal or income of any share
or portion of my estate shall become payable to any beneficiary
who is an infant, such principal or income shall absolutely vest
in and belong to such infant, but payment thereof may be deferred,
and I authorize my Executors and Trustees, as the case may be, in
their sole and uncontrolled discretion, to hold the share of such
infant and to retain the custody and control thereof and to administer
the same and invest and reinvest such share or portion and the accumulated
income therefrom, if any, with all the powers granted in this my
Last Will and Testament to the Executors and Trustees, and my Executors
and Trustees are further directed to apply such part of the income
and principal thereof as in their discretion they may deem necessary
and proper for the maintenance, support and education of such infant
during minority, and upon such infant attaining majority, to pay
over to such infant whatever part of such principal and income and
any accumulated income thereon which may then remain in the hands
of my said Executors or Trustees, as the case may be. Such application
of principal or income, in the discretion of my said Executors or
Trustees may be made wholly or in part by said Executors or Trustees
paying directly the expenses for the maintenance, support and education
of such infant, or by paying such principal or income to such infant
or to an adult person of my Executors' or Trustees' selection deemed
by them to be the most likely person to make proper application
of such principal or income for the infant's benefit; the receipt
of the person to whom such payment is made to be a sufficient voucher
and discharge to my said Executors or Trustees, as the case may
be, for all payments so made by them.
ELEVENTH: In
addition to the powers conferred upon my Executors and Trustees
by law, or herein elsewhere conferred upon them, I hereby authorize
and empower them and successors (a) to retain any investments which
I may have at the time of my death, and to invest and reinvest any
trusts funds coming into their hands in any stocks, bonds, securities
or other property, real or personal, which they in their discretion
deem advisable, whether such investments be authorized by the laws
of any state or jurisdiction or not, and to hold the same as long
as they may deem advisable, with full power to sell and reinvest,
and to change securities and investments as they deem best; (b)
for the purpose of partitioning or distributing the funds of my
estate, and for any other purpose whatsoever, to grant, bargain,
sell, convey, mortgage, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of,
as and when they or their successors may deem expedient, any and
all property, real, personal or mixed, of which I may be seized
or possessed or in or to which I may be in any manner interested
or entitled at the time of my death, or of which they may be seized
or possessed, entitled to or interested in, as my Executors or Trustees,
and upon such disposition thereof, to execute, acknowledge and deliver
all necessary and proper deeds or instruments of conveyance for
the vesting in the purchases, mortgagee, lessee, or other transferee
thereof, the title thereto, in fee or otherwise, and I hereby direct
that upon any such disposition thereof, my Executors or Trustees,
or the successors of any of them, may take the consideration agreed
upon, wholly or partly, in cash, stocks, bonds, notes or any securities
which they or their successors shall determine upon, and I expressly
direct that no purchases, mortgagee, lessee, or other transferee
thereof shall be bound to see to the application of money or other
thing of value paid or given therefor; (c) whenever my Executors
or Trustees, or the successors of any of them, are required, or
shall determine to divide the principal of my estate held by them
into shares, so to divide the same without converting it into money,
but in their discretion by apportioning the property held, whether
the same shall be producing income or not, to such different parts
or shares, in such manner as they shall deem fairly and equitably
to bring about the division directed or determined upon, the judgment
of my said Executors or Trustees concerning the priority of any
allotment or distribution of property hereunder shall be final and
binding upon all persons interested in my estate, and the determination
of my Executors or Trustees as to the value of any such property
shall be presumptively correct and shall be final and binding upon
all persons in interest, unless clear and convincing proof is adduced
showing gross error on the part of my said Executors or Trustees;
(d) to consent to and participate in the reorganization, consolidation,
merger or other capital readjustment of any corporation, the stocks,
bonds or other securities of which they may hold, and to do all
things whatsoever necessary, advisable or expedient to enable them
to secure the benefits of such reorganization, consolidation, merger
or other capital readjustment, including particularly the sale or
purchase of any rights incident thereto, and the payment of any
amounts necessary. Investments made through the exercise of any
such rights, or the proceeds received at the sale thereof, shall
be considered principal.
I also further
authorize my Executors or Trustees, as the case may be, to vote
upon and give proxies to vote upon, any stocks or bonds of corporations
that may be owned by me at the time of my death or subsequently
acquired by them, upon any question that may lawfully be submitted
to the vote of the stockholders or bondholders of such corporation,
and in their discretion to subject any such stocks to voting trust
agreements, and to accept voting trust certificates in exchange
therefor. It is my will and intention that in dealing with the affairs
and securities of any corporation in which I shall be interested
at the time of my death, either as creditor or stockholder, or with
the affairs and securities of any corporation in which my Executors
or Trustees, as the case may be, may at any time be interested on
behalf of my estate, as creditors or stockholders, my said Executors
or Trustees, as the case may be, shall have and may exercise all
of the powers that might lawfully be exercised by an individual
owning said stock or obligation and acting in his own right and
interest.
The Trustees
shall be authorized to hold such sum or sums uninvested as they
shall see fit.
The Trustees
may hold the trust estate or any part thereof as an undivided whole,
without separation as between the trusts hereby created, but no
such holding shall defer the vesting of any estate in possession,
or otherwise, according to the terms hereof.
The Trustees
are hereby authorized and empowered to employ such person or persons
to assist them in the management and administration of the estate,
in an advisory capacity or otherwise, as they shall deem in their
sole discretion to be for the best interests of the trust estate
and to fix and pay the compensation therefor.
I direct that
my Executors and Trustees shall not be required to lay apart any
portion of the income or any of the said trust funds for the purpose
of keeping the principal thereof intact, or for the purpose of making
good any amount paid in premiums on the purchase of securities.
All cash dividends
or other cash distributions received from any mining stocks or other
wasting investments whether or not of the same kind (notwithstanding
such cash dividends or distributions may have been designated or
described by the disburser thereof to be in whole or in part a return
of capital or a distribution from depletion reserves and whether
or not they may be extraordinary dividends or distributions), shall
be treated as income without setting apart any portions of such
dividends or distributions to maintain intact the principal of any
trust fund provided for hereunder. All extraordinary stock dividends
and all realized appreciation in the value of stocks, bonds, securities
or other property, resulting from the sale or other disposition
thereof, shall be considered principal and not income, but ordinary
stock dividends paid regularly by a corporation in lieu of, or in
addition to regular cash dividends shall be considered income and
not principal, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that the Trustees' determination
as to whether any dividend should be apportioned or allocated in
whole or in part to principal or income, shall be conclusive and
binding upon all persons now or hereafter interested in the trust
estate.
I hereby expressly
declare that my Executors or Trustees, as the case may be, whichever
shall assume to act in the premises, shall have full power to settle
and determine all questions which may arise as to my estate, including
the power to settle, adjust, compromise or refer to arbitration,
any and all claims in favor or or against my estate and to receive
and make payment thereof according to such arbitration, settlement,
adjustment and compromise, and all the acts of said Executors and/or
Trustees in that regard shall be final and conclusive.
I further direct
that no bond, undertaking or other security whatsoever, shall be
required of my Executors and Trustees, or their successors in any
jurisdiction whatsoever, for the discharge of any of their duties
hereunder, or for or upon the doing any act which they are empowered
to do under or by virtue of the provisions of this my Last Will,
or under or by virtue of any law or authority whatsoever.
Except as otherwise
herein provided, all of the powers and authority herein conferred,
including discretionary power, may be exercised by such of my Executors
and Trustees as may qualify, and by the survivor, survivors and
successors of them.
The words ``income''
and ``profits'' as used in this my Last Will are not intended to
include profits realized upon the sale of any of the assets constituting
the principal of my estate. Such profits are to treated as accretions
to principal.
In the event
that any person named as a legatee under this my Last Will and Testament
shall die simultaneously with me, or in or as a result of a common
disaster, or in the event that there may be a question as to the
survivorship of such person or myself, then for all purposes and
intents under this my Last Will and Testament such person shall
be deemed to have predeceased me.
TWELFTH: I direct
that any Federal or state income tax which may become due from my
estate by reason of the profits or accretions which shall accrue
to the principal of any trust fund hereunder shall be paid by my
Trustees out of the principal of such trust fund and shall not be
charged against or paid from the income of any beneficiary of any
trust fund under this my Last Will.
THIRTEENTH:
I direct that all estate, transfer, succession, inheritance, legacy
and similar taxes upon or with respect to so much of my estate as
passes by, through or under Paragraphs SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH,
SIXTH and EIGHTH of this my Last Will, shall be paid out of my residuary
estate and there shall be no proration of any such taxes, and I
further direct that so much of such estate, transfer, succession,
inheritance, legacy and similar taxes as may be assessed against
my estate by reason of the inclusion for estate tax purposes of
the trust referred to under Paragraph SEVENTH of this my Last Will,
or any other assets not passing by, through or under this my Last
Will, shall be apportioned to such trust and assets and shall be
charged to and paid therefrom.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF,
I have hereunto to this, my Last Will and Testament, set my hand
and seal this 9th day of August, in the year One Thousand, Nine
Hundred and Forty-eight.
George Herman
Ruth (L.S.
In the presence
of:
Dorothy Henderson
Herbert P. Polk
F. Van S. Parr, Jr.
SEALED, SUBSCRIBED,
PUBLISHED AND DECLARED by the above named Testator, George Herman
Ruth, as and for his Last Will and Testament, in the presence of
us, and of each of us, who at his request and in his presence and
in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names
as witneses the day and year last above written; this clause having
first been read to us and we having noted and hereby certifying
that the matters herein stated took place in fact and in the order
herein stated.
Dorothy Henderson
residing at 520A -9th Street Brooklyn, N.Y.
Herbert P. Polk
residing at 205 W. 89 Street New York, N.Y.
F. Van S. Parr,
Jr. residing at 23 Woodland Way Manhasset, N.Y. |