In Ward v. Ward in 1987, a North Carolina court’s entire judgement rested on the presence of a single comma. A man had left a trust, which a trustee was to use to help support the man’s widow. Exactly how the trustee was supposed to support the widow was unclear, though. The will of Alvin T. Ward read:
My Trustee is directed to pay such amounts of and from the income generated by said trust, and from the principal of said trust if he deems same to be advisable, to, for, or on account of my said wife in quarterly installments or more frequently if he deems advisable and if practicable.
Is the trustee required to pay the income to Ward’s wife, or can he use his discretion? The income payments are required, ruled the court: The comma after “said trust” shows that only the distribution of the principal is left to the trustee’s judgment.
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