Founding Fathers – What’s in a Name?

By Jack Dooley

Robert Morris, who is too often forgotten, was one of the most important of the Founding Fathers as he almost single-handedly funded the Continental Army through its 1871 victory at Yorktown. His descendant, also named Robert Morris, created a Trust under his Will in 1952 in which he stated, in part, that following the death of his daughter, Ellen, the Trust would pass to the children of hers “as shall bear the name Morris, as part of his or her name…and should none of my grandchildren be so named then equally divided among all of Ellen’s children.” Ellen had five children, but only one of whom, Robert Morris Manganaro, had been given the name containing “Morris” at birth. Robert Morris Manganaro’s four siblings, at ages 24, 41, 42, and 51, each filed Court petitions to add “Morris” to their names. Each of the name change petitions was granted, so when Ellen died in 2024, there were five grandchildren of the Testator who had “Morris” in their name, but only Robert had been given the name by his parents at birth. To the surprise of no lawyer or law student anywhere, a four-to-one dispute arose over the interpretation of the Trust.

Robert maintained that he was the sole beneficiary because he was the only one who was assigned the “Morris” moniker at birth.  He argued that the phrase “should none of my grandchildren be so named…” used the past perfect verb tense and the passive voice to indicate that the intention of the Settlor was that the name “Morris” be given by their parents to their child either at birth or during the child’s minority. Both the Trustee and the Orphans Court (Chester County) disagreed and concluded that a review of the entire Will (rather than a focus solely on the one phrase) led to the conclusion that the intent of the Settlor was to preserve the famous name “Morris” regardless of how the name came to label the descendant. In making this determination, the Court disagreed with Robert’s contentions that his siblings had “self-performed” their name changes rather than receiving the name from someone else. The Court ruled that a change of name must be accomplished through the mandatory procedure and court hearing, and as the Court has the discretion to grant or deny the requested name, the four siblings had not, in fact, changed their own names.

Robert Morris Manganaro’s relegation from a 100 percent to 20 percent beneficiary heir is based upon the well-settled principle that in discerning the intent of the Testator (of the Will) or Settlor (of the Trust), one must review the entire document and not rely only on a word or phrase which supports one’s position.

We are free to agree or disagree with this ruling, but the lesson to take away is to avoid any vagueness in estate planning documents by envisioning all potential scenarios that could arise so the document can speak with the utmost clarity. The Testator/Settlor could have helped his grandchildren avoid this litigation (and the associated attorneys’ fees!) by clearly stating that the name must be given at birth, if that was truly his intent.

If you have questions or need assistance with your estate plan, Dischell Bartle Dooley can help. Call us at 215.362.2474.