Bladt v. Bladt

191 Iowa 1344
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedMarch 15, 1921
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 191 Iowa 1344 (Bladt v. Bladt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bladt v. Bladt, 191 Iowa 1344 (iowa 1921).

Opinion

ARthur, J.-

Tbe facts are without dispute. Tbe cause was decided on tbe sustaining of a demurrer to tbe answer and cross-petition of defendant.

Jurgen Bladt was a farmer, residing in Pottawattamie County, and was the owner of several hundred acres of land in that county and some real estate in South Dakota. He died in April, 1915, testate, leaving surviving him Martha Lena Bladt, his widow, and ten children. His will was admitted to probate. The widow and nine of the children, being all of the children except George Bladt, are the plaintiffs in this action. George Bladt died testate, on or about the 9th day of February, 1917, shortly after the death of his father, Jurgen Bladt, leaving the defendant, Mary Bladt, as his widow surviving. The will of George Bladt was admitted to probate, by which will his widow, Mary Bladt, received his entire estate. Martha Lena Bladt, the widow of Jurgen Bladt, testator, is in possession under the terms of the will, of the land of which Jurgen Bladt died seized, and all the children of Jurgen Bladt are still living, except the son, George Bladt.

The foregoing facts were alleged by plaintiffs in their petition, and the same facts were alleged by the defendant in her answer and cross-petition. Plaintiffs demurred to the answer of-defendant. The issue was of law, arising from plaintiffs’ contention that George Bladt had nothing but a conditional or contingent remainder, under the will,' in the real estate involved, and that, therefore, his widow, defendant and appellant, had no interest whatever in the real estate devised; and the claim of the defendant was that her deceased husband, George Bladt, took a vested remainder, under the will of his father. Both parties agreed that, if the defendant in this cause took anything, it would be through her husband, George Bladt. It is also conceded that, at the time of the death of George Bladt, there had [1346]*1346not been any division of the property or any disposition of it in any way.

The paragraph of the will upon which this cause turns is as follows:

“I will and bequeath unto my dear wife, Martha Lena Bladt, all of my property, real, personal and moneys and credits during her natural life, if she shall desire to hold the same, she to have the right to keep up the improvements, traffic in farm produce and stock, the same as if I were there myself. And should she wish to dispose of all of my estate or in part, it is my wish and I direct that after deducting her one-third residue, the balance remaining shall he divided between our issue, namely [naming them], they to share and share alike. And should any of my issue not be living when the division is made then their share goes to their issue if any and if none and there should be no issue then the share of our deceased issue reverts to those of our issue living, share and share alike. ’ ’

The court below sustained plaintiffs’ demurrer to defendant’s cross-petition, thus holding that, under a proper construction of the will of Jurgen Bladt, G-eorge Bladt, at the time of his death, had no vested interest or remainder in the property left by Jurgen Bladt, and that, therefore, the defendant, Mary Bladt, had no right, title, or interest in and to the property left by Jurgen Bladt. Defendant elected to stand on the ruling on demurrer, and decree was entered in favor of plaintiffs, from which defendant prosecutes this appeal.

Testator first provides for possession and use by his wife, with the power of sale in her if she wishes to sell; then provides for a certain division; then, in the same paragraph for a division, uses the following language:

“And should any of my issue not be living when the said division is made, then their share goes to their issue, if any, and should there be no issue then the share of our deceased issue reverts to those of our issue living, share and share alike. ’ ’

It is clear that testator intended his real estate to go to his own issue, and to only his own blood; and that he intended to exclude any persons who were not of his own blood. The general rule is that the law favors vested remainders. This rule is so well known and recognized that authorities need not be [1347]*1347cited. But such rule in no way forbids or excludes contingent remainders when such appear from the clear provisions of the will. When one takes only a contingent remainder in real estate or a remainder conditioned upon the happening of a future event, or upon his living until a certain time or until a certain tiling- happens, he must live until the time, or until the event occurs, in order to take any interest in the real estate. McClain v. Capper, 98 Iowa 145; Atchison v. Francis, 182 Iowa 37; Wilhelm v. Calder, 102 Iowa 342; Taylor v. Taylor, 118 Iowa 407; Kierulff v. Harlan, 150 Iowa 671, 675; Horner v. Haase, 177 Iowa 115; Fulton v. Fulton, 179 Iowa 948. It would seem quite clear that the remainder in the case before us was contingent, and not vested, because of the following provision of the will:

“And should any of my issue not be living when the said division is made, then their share goes to their issue if any and if none and should there be no issue, then the share of our deceased issue reverts to those of our issue living, share and share alike.”

The quite recent case of Atchison v. Francis, 182 Iowa 37, distinguishes the cases where there is a vested remainder from those cases where there is to be a division among certain parties who are living at a fixed future date, or at the happening of a future contingency; and reviews cases involving those propositions. In the Atchison case, the remainder devised was held to be a vested remainder. The provision in the will was entirely different and clearly distinguishable from the one before us; and the opinion in the Atchison case in a very illuminating and able fashion points out the difference between the provisions of the will in the Atchison case and provisions such as we have before us, and the proper interpretation and construction to be given to such will provisions, and is authority for the construction of the will in the instant case, as contended for by appellee, that George Bladt had only a conditional or contingent remainder, and not a vested remainder, as contended by appellant.

In McClain v. Capper, 98 Iowa 145, the will clause under construction was as follows:

“I will and bequeath to my beloved wife, during the minority of my children, the entire use and benefit of my real estate, [1348]*1348for the purpose of supporting and educating my children; and, when my youngest child arrives at full age, I desire that the real estate (after my wife’s dower interest is set off to her herein) be equally divided between my children [naming them] their heirs, or survivors of them.”

One of these devisees died before the youngest child reached his legal majority, and, in discussing that situation, we said:

“It will not be doubted but that, if Margaret Jane had lived till the youngest child of John Capper had attained his majority, the devise to her would have been perfect. "We are, then, to deal with the legal effect of her decease before that time.

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Bluebook (online)
191 Iowa 1344, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bladt-v-bladt-iowa-1921.