Acre v. Koenig

404 P.2d 621, 89 Idaho 342, 1965 Ida. LEXIS 376
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 2, 1965
Docket9345
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 404 P.2d 621 (Acre v. Koenig) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Acre v. Koenig, 404 P.2d 621, 89 Idaho 342, 1965 Ida. LEXIS 376 (Idaho 1965).

Opinion

SMITH, Justice.

Appellant, formerly known as Edith I. Cain Acre, and Lyman E. Acre were married October 17, 1953. At that time each owned separate real property, having adjoining farms in Kootenai County. In April, 1956, they executed a property settlement agreement which they did not cause, to be recorded. Thereafter Mrs. Acre filed a suit for divorce, attaching the agreement to her divorce complaint. Soon thereafter the parties became reconciled and caused dismissal of the divorce action. They then lived together as husband and wife until the death of Mr. Acre, August 11, 1959. Mrs. Acre thereafter married one Koenig.

Proceedings were commenced for the joint probate of the estate of Lyman E. Acre, deceased, and of the estate of decedent’s first wife, Louise Elizabeth Acre, deceased. All interests in property acquired by the first wife were community in character and descended to Lyman E. Acre, thus creating the separate character of his property, prior to his subsequent marriage to appellant.

The Order Settling Final Account and Decree of Distribution in the matter of the estate of Lyman E. Acre, deceased, by its terms recognized the farm property probated in the matter of the estates of the de *344 cedents as having been the separate property of Lyman E. Acre at the time of his death. The decree distributed such property to decedents’ six surviving children only, in equal shares, and denied to appellant any distributive share thereof. The probate court thus treated the aforesaid property settlement agreement as being in effect which, inter alia, provided:

“Each party hereto waives any and all right to the estate of the other left at his or her death and forever quitclaims any and all rights to share in the estate of the other by the laws of succession, * * * and each hereby waives any and all rights of homestead in the real property of the other * * í}í tJ

Appellant herein, having duly filed her objections to the entry of the Order and Decree, appealed therefrom to the district court. That court after a trial without a jury found that the property settlement agreement was in effect at the time of Mr. Acre’s death, and awarded all of his separate property to his surviving children and entered judgment confirming the Account and the Decree of Distribution except as to minor particulars not here pertinent. Appellant has appealed from the judgment.

Appellant assigns error of the trial court in finding that the property settlement was in effect at the time of Lyman E. Acre’s death, and in affirming the Account and Decree of Distribution in the matter of decedent’s estate. The assignments of error attack the findings of the trial court to the effect that after the filing of the divorce action and the subsequent reconciliation of Mr. and Mrs. Acre, they “continued to treat their property and incomes and deal therewith in accordance with the agreement up to the time of Lyman Acre’s death,” and in concluding and adjudging accordingly. The assignments present the question whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain the findings and resultant judgment.

Florence G. Acre, the wife of the administrator in the instant proceeding, testified to a conversation had shortly before July 4, 1959, at the home of Lyman C. Acre, administrator and son of Lyman E. Acre. Those present included the witness, her husband, Lyman E. Acre and his wife Edith, who is the appellant herein. In answer to a question as to what was the conversation had, she stated:

“A. Well, they were talking about the property settlement. They both said they had the agreement that neither would have anything of the other’s separate property.”

Mr. Sadler, a brother-in-law of the administrator, testified concerning several visits to his home by Mr. and Mrs. Lyman E. Acre. On one occasion the Acres and Sadler and wife were present. Sadler stat *345 ed that he was acquainted with the adjoining farms which the Acres owned. He then related the substance of a conversation :

“A. Well, I asked Lyman whether he was going to merge, him and Edith, whether they were going to merge the property. No, he says, we have a gentlemen’s agreement as to what is his is his and what is hers is hers, and anything we accumulated after we married of course is community property.”

Appellant then rebutted the testimony relating to the conversation to which Florence Acre testified. Appellant stated that “no conversation took place concerning the property settlement agreement, at the time and place mentioned by Florence, i. e., prior to July 4, 1959; also, that no conversation relating to the agreement was had at any time during the year 1959, with the witness and Lyman C. Acre in the presence of Florence.

Appellant advances the premise that where spouses, in contemplation of divorce, enter into a property settlement agreement dividing their property and thereafter become reconciled “and resume cohabitation, agreeing that the settlement agreement he cancelled and the parties restored to their original rights in said property, there is a mutual rescission of the settlement.” That premise is well supported by the authorities cited by appellant. See Lundy v. Lundy, 79 Idaho 185, 312 P.2d 1028 (1957); Brown v. Brown (1915), 170 Cal. 1, 147 P. 1168; Gregg v. Manufacturers’ Bldg. Corporation (1933), 134 Cal.App. 147, 25 P.2d 1014; Peters v. Peters (1936), 16 Cal.App.2d 383, 60 P.2d 313; Mundt v. Connecticut General Life Ins. Co. (1939), 35 Cal.App.2d 416, 95 P.2d 966; Lo Vasco v. Lo Vasco (1941), 46 Cal.App.2d 242, 115 P.2d 562; Whitlow v. Durst (Cal.App.1942), 121 P.2d 810; In re Brimhall's Estate (1943), 62 Cal.App.2d 30, 143 P.2d 981; Lamb v. Lamb (1955), 131 Cal.App.2d 489, 280 P.2d 793; In re Ray’s Estate (1931), 304 Pa. 421, 156 A. 64, 79 A.L.R. 772; Anno. 35 A.L.R.2d 707; 42 C.J.S. Husband and Wife § 601.

Appellant stresses the case of Weeks v. Weeks (1940), 143 Fla. 686, 197 So. 393, which enunciated the rule that reconciliation of a husband and wife and resumption of marital duties will void a previous contract in settlement of property rights. That decision discloses however that the Florida court regarded the instrument as a separation agreement, and one of the questions involved was whether a resumption of the marital relation abrogated a separation agreement. The authorities cited by the Florida court support the rule that resumption of the marital relation does abrogate a separation agreement. See Dillon v. Dillon (1919), 103 Neb. 322, 171 N.W. 917; Cole v. Waldrop (1924), 204 Ky. 703, 265 S.W. 274; Harrison v. Harrison (1919), *346 201 Mo.App. 465, 211 S.W. 708; Carl v. Carl, 166 N.Y.S. 961 (Sup., 1917); Graves v. Graves, 174 N.Y.S. 615 (Sup., 1918); Ahrens v.

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Bluebook (online)
404 P.2d 621, 89 Idaho 342, 1965 Ida. LEXIS 376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/acre-v-koenig-idaho-1965.