Like any other use of language, the language used in contracts can be ambiguous. Spaulding v. Morse illustrates the point. The case concerns a child support agreement. After Richard Morse's parents got divorced, they reached an agreement in which Richard's father, George, promised to
"pay to the trustee for Richard $ 1,200 per year until the entrance of Richard into some college, university or higher institution of learning, and thereupon, he shall pay $2,200 per year for a period of higher education not more than four years."
Richard graduated from high school in 1946 (during World War II) and was drafted into the army the day after graduation. The question in Spaulding is whether George's promise obligates him to pay $1200 a month while Richard is in the army.