Appellate court interprets personal-property bequest in will

Steiner v. Martin, 9th Dist. No. 15AP0039, 2016-Ohio-5281. Will beneficiaries litigated the meaning of a specific bequest that contained a general disposition of chattels (i.e. tangible personal property) followed by a reference to specific items of personal property to be distributed pursuant to the general bequest. The probate court concluded that the bequest language provided a general bequest of all chattels to the daughter, and the son appealed asserting that the bequest should be limited to the items specifically identified. Applying the doctrine of ejusdem generis ("where a more general description is coupled with an enumeration of things, the description shall cover only things of the same kind"), the appellate court determined that the use of the phrase "any and all" in the bequest indicated the intention to pass all chattel property to the daughter. Accordingly, the appellate court upheld the trial court's ruling because the evident intention from the will itself was not obvious to exclude the other property not listed in the bequest.