Bacon v. Nichols

47 Colo. 31
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedSeptember 15, 1909
DocketNo. 5582; No. 3260 C. A.
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 47 Colo. 31 (Bacon v. Nichols) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bacon v. Nichols, 47 Colo. 31 (Colo. 1909).

Opinions

Mr. Justice Hill

delivered the opinion of the court:

John H. Bacon executed a will, which, in the disposition of his property, was as follows’:

“First. I give and bequeath to Mrs. Elóise Powel Nichols, the only child of my sister Catherine M. Powell, the sum of five thousand dollars — ■ $5,000.00.
“Second. I give and bequeath to1 Frank E. Hodgkin, the only child of my deceased sister Mary E. Hodgkins, the sum of five thousand dollars— $5,000.00.
“Third. I give and bequeath to Katie Bacon McKinney, the only child of my deceased brother, Frederick W. Bacon, the sum of five thousand dollars — $5,000.00.
“Fourth. I give and bequeath to Charles A. McKinney, husband of my niece Kate B. McKinney, my open faced gold watch and chain.
“Fifth. I give and bequeath to' my sister Aurelia I. Magill, the sum of twenty-five dollars a month during her life.
“Sixth. I give and bequeath to Mrs. Augusta Bacon, widow of my deceased brother Frederick, the sum of twelve dollars and fifty cents a month during her life time.
“Seventh. I give and bequeath to Mary Weaver (daughter of S. P. Weaver), who was named after my wife, the sum of one hundred dollars.
[33]*33“Eighth. I give and bequeath to Hobart F. Blythe, (son of B. F. Blythe, of Hiller, Nebraska), the sum of one hundred dollars.
“Ninth. Having made a warrantee deed to my son William Henry Bacon, f-or lots seventeen (17), eighteen (18), nineteen (19) and twenty (20) in block eighty-one (81) situated in Colo. Springs,. Colo. I also give and bequeath to my said son, my gold time watch and all my diamonds.
“Tenth. I give to my only and beloved wife, Mary A. Bacon, all my real estate of whatever kind I may have, also all my personal property of every description, all monies, notes, mortgages, bonds or stocks, and she is to have the free use, and restriction, possession, control and benefits of the same. •
“Eleventh. Should my wife die before I do, then the said property will become the property of my son, William Henry Bacon.”

The testator nominated his wife and son as the executors of the will.

Within a few months after the will was executed Mr. Bacon died; the will was duly admitted to probate. Thereafter, the wife and son filed a petition in the county court of El Paso county, for a construction''of the will, whereby it was sought to have determined the rights of the respective legatees and devisees thereunder. To this proceeding the other beneficiaries were made parties. The county court held that it was not the intention of the deceased, by paragraph ten of his will, to revoke or set aside any of the bequests mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, and that by paragraph ten Mrs. Bacon was entitled to receive only that portion of the estate of the testator remaining after the payment of the bequests set out in the preceding paragraphs of his will. From this judgment the petitioners appealed to the district court, where a similar judgment was [34]*34entered; from which this appeal is taken and two questions are urged for determination.

“1st — Is there an irreconcilable repugnancy between paragraph ten of the will and the preceding paragraphs thereof, and if so what is the effect?
“Incidental to which is the question: Was said clause in said deed admissible for any purpose?
“2nd — Is the will void for uncertainty?”

In the construction of all wills the intention of the testator is the governing principle, the point to which all explanation should be directed. The circumstances of each individual ease vary so much from those of most other cases that it is difficult to determine from the explanation or construction of one will what would control in the construction of another; and although there may be general principles tending to assist the courts in determining the intention of the testator, yet they can be but advisory and not .controlling. Such rules are to be used as helps toward reaching the intention of the testator “making them our servants rather than our masters.” — 1 Redfield on Wills 420. For, as stated in the case of Elyton Land Co. v. M’Elrath, 53 Fed. 763 :

“It is in many-cases impossible to determine, beyond the possibility of a doubt, what the intention of the testator was; and all that can be done is to ascertain, from all the facts and circumstances surrounding him, his property, and those to whom it is left, and the language of the will, what probably was intended. * * * that has been the controlling principle. ’ ’

The first question necessary to be determined is, was said clause in said deed admissible for any purpose? We answer in the affirmative in a case of this land, where there is a contention over the disposition of property claimed, under different paragraphs of a will, which,.when'taken separately, create an ap[35]*35parent irreconcilable repugnancy between them. The will refers to a deed (as explanatory in part and as a reason for the other dispositions made in the will) transferring certain property, and if necessary it might be read into the will as a part thereof. A will may be construed in connection with another instrument in writing to which it refers to aid in ascertaining the intention of the testator.—Jackson v. Babcock, 12 Johnson (N. Y.) 388; Capp v. Brunner, 132 Pa. St. 417; Ford v. Ford, 70 Wis. 19; Hall et al. v. Hill, McLean & Co., 6 La. Annual 745.

• We think it admissible for the further reason as throwing light upon the property which the testator may have thought he was disposing of, or attempting to dispose of, as held by this court in the case of Nusly et al. v. Curtis et al.; 36 Colo. 464.

“The question is one of intent, to be gathered from the language used in creating it, in the light of the circumstances of the testator and the property which he is disposing of in his will.”

In this case it is shown that the value of the property disposed of was between twenty-seven and thirty-two thousand dollars, exclusive of any reference to the reservation contained in this deed, which was a deed executed by John H. Bacon and Mary A. Bacon, his wife, to their son, William H. Bacon, about six months prior to the death of the testator, for the property therein named of the conceded value of $100,000.00 with a rental value of at least $600.00 per month, over and above the cost of keeping the same in repair. The clause referred to in this deed reads as follows:

The said grantors expressly reserve the possession, use and rents and profits of said described premises for and during the natural lives of the said grantors and for and during the natural life of the survivor (of either of them).”

[36]*36Wliila the deed was signed by both Mr. and Mrs. Bacon, it is stipulated that Mrs. Bacon had no interest in the property prior to the execution of the deed.

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Bluebook (online)
47 Colo. 31, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bacon-v-nichols-colo-1909.