Robert H. Jackson

“ It was found, however, that trustees hesitated to make any payment to the life tenant or to exercise the judicial discretion given to them by Matter of Otis' Will, because of the fear of a possible surcharge in the event of an overpayment to the life tenant. The life tenant in almost every instance was the primary object of the testator's bounty. The beneficiary intended to be most favored was thus deprived, by the trustee's inaction or hesitancy, of receiving income during the entire salvage period, and large sums of money were accumulated and frozen. ”

“ Under the law of New York the whole legal estate vests in the trustee for purposes of the trust, [2] including title to mortgages and to real estate acquired upon or in lieu of their foreclosure, which becomes personalty for the purposes of the trust. [3] Where the instrument creating the trust directs payment of income to one set of beneficiaries and corpus to another, allocation of receipts and disbursements as between capital and income is sometimes attended with difficulty. ”

“ The whole cluster of vexatious problems arising from uses and trusts, mortmain, the rule against perpetuities, and testamentary directions for accumulations or for suspensions of the power of alienation, is one whose history admonishes against unnecessary rigidity. ”

“ Even though the constitutional protection invoked be denied on nonfederal grounds, it is the province of this Court to inquire whether the decision of the state court rests upon a fair or substantial basis. If unsubstantial, constitutional obligations may not be thus evaded. ”

“ Neither does it appear that the remaindermen could properly have insisted that the trustee should be surcharged if in the exercise of his discretion he had paid to the life tenant the amount which the statute now directs.' Id. That is a question of New York law on which the New York court has the final say. It is none of our business-whether we deem that interpretation to be reasonable or unreasonable, sound or erroneous. ”

“ Mr. Justice DOUGLAS, with whom Mr. Justice BLACK concurs.
The New York Court of Appeals stated that in formulating the statutory rule in question the state legislature did no more 'than direct a trustee to do what under the decisions of this court he has discretionary power to do.' 289 N.Y. 423, 430, 46 N.E.2d 501, 505. And it went on to say, 'Before the enactment of this statute, the life tenant could not have demanded as of right the payment to him during liquidation of more of the surplus income than he will receive under the statute. ”