| Court: | NJ supreme Court |
| Facts: | Rosa Green's will bequeaths to William Green all the money in her savings account, but says that when he dies, any that remains there goes in trust for her niece (Fox). |
| Posture: | Will was admitted to probate. Superior Court says William owns the money (i.e., can dispose of it). |
| Issue: | Did William become the absolute owner of the money (i.e., the gift to the niece was void), or did he have a life estate in it only, and the niece had fee? |
| Holding: | Affirmed. |
| Rule: | A gift is absolute. |
| Reasoning: | Lots of precedent; we're not going to overrule any of it, because that would be dangerous. If a trust were desired, then one should have been set up. |
| Dicta: | Dissent: applying this technical rule of law defeats the testatrix's intent. [really long dissent]. If the reason for the law ceases, then the law ceases. Stare decisis is a guide, not a god. Certainty is only desirable insofar as it produces the maximum good and the minimum harm. |