Bequest to Testator's Own Heirs or Next of Kin. The law of the territory of Guam does not include either
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(1) the common law rule of worthier title, that a testator cannot devise an interest to his own heirs; or (2) a presumption or rule of interpretation that a testator does not intend, by a devise or bequest to his own heirs or next of kin, to transfer an interest to them. The meaning of a devise or bequest of a legal or equitable interest to a testator's own heirs or next of kin, however designated, shall be determined by the general rules applicable to the interpretation of wills, as set forth in this Chapter. This Section shall be applied in all cases in which final judgment has not been entered on the effective date of this Section. SOURCE: California Probate Code, § 109. COMMENT: The common law rule of worthier title dates back to the very old English common law. It arose at a time when wills were very much distrusted by the English courts of law, for a number of reasons which may be of historical significance but which no longer have validity in a nonfeudal system of land tenure. Although the rule has largely been abolished, by statute or court interpre- tation in virtually every American jurisdiction, it is conceivable that without a statute such as § 619, the argument might be pressed upon the courts of Guam that it should remain in effect in Guam. Although § 617, supra, makes it relatively clear that the rule does not apply in Guam, the Commission believes that Guam should follow the lead of other jurisdictions which have eliminated the rule by statute and write the rule out of Guam's law once and for all.