## Facts

- Josephine Lantz executed a will containing a residuary clause that gave the residue of her estate “to all her grandchildren.”
- The will directed that the residue be held in trust and used for the educational benefit of Lantz’s grandchildren.
- Lantz died survived by four adult children and three infant grandchildren.
- The executor filed an action seeking a construction limiting the trust beneficiaries to the grandchildren living at Lantz’s death, excluding any grandchildren born later.
- A guardian ad litem was appointed to represent any unknown or unborn grandchildren whose interests could be affected by the court’s construction.
- The guardian ad litem argued that if the will were read to include future grandchildren, the future grandchildren’s interests were nonvested (described as executory) and therefore void under the rule against perpetuities.

## Issues

1. Whether the residuary trust for the educational benefit of “all [the testatrix’s] grandchildren” should be construed to include grandchildren born after the testatrix’s death.
2. Whether construing the trust to include after-born grandchildren would create a future interest that violates the rule against perpetuities.

## Decision

- The court construed the trust as a class gift for the benefit of Lantz’s grandchildren and did not limit the class to only those grandchildren alive at Lantz’s death.
- The court rejected the rule-against-perpetuities objection and upheld the trust under the construction adopted.

## Legal Principles

- A testamentary gift “to [a described group] as a whole” (such as “grandchildren”) is commonly treated as a class gift, and the court must determine the class and when it closes based on the instrument and default construction rules.
- The rule against perpetuities applies to nonvested future interests; a construction that treats beneficiaries’ interests as vested (including vested subject to open for class gifts) avoids invalidity.
- Courts favor a reasonable construction that carries out the testator’s intent and preserves the disposition, rather than one that defeats the gift by unnecessary application of the rule against perpetuities.
- Appointment of a guardian ad litem ensures representation of unascertained or unborn persons who could be affected by a will-construction decree, but the guardian’s role does not change the meaning of the will.

## Conclusion

Richards v. Maiden involved a will-construction dispute over a residuary education trust for “all” of the testatrix’s grandchildren. The executor sought to confine the beneficiaries to grandchildren living at death, while a guardian ad litem raised a rule-against-perpetuities challenge if after-born grandchildren were included. The court construed the will as providing for the class of grandchildren without restricting the class to those alive at death and upheld the trust against the perpetuities challenge.


Richards v. Maiden, 54 Va. Cir. 337 (2000)