Boulware v. Sinclair Prairie Oil Co.

219 S.W.2d 536, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1670
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 31, 1949
DocketNo. 4581
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 219 S.W.2d 536 (Boulware v. Sinclair Prairie Oil Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Boulware v. Sinclair Prairie Oil Co., 219 S.W.2d 536, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1670 (Tex. Ct. App. 1949).

Opinion

COE, Chief Justice.

This was a suit by one of the appellees, Sinclair Prairie Oil Co., seeking the construction of a will, particularly to determine the power and authority of trustee named in the will to execute an oil and gas lease, now owned by plaintiff, upon certain land now constituting a part of the trust estate created by said will. J. B. Martin, trustee under the will of I. L. Martin, deceased, Narcissa Martin Boulware and husband C. C. Boulware, John W. Martin, I. L. Martin, Jr., Mary Jo Martin, a feme sole, Rose Marie Martin, a feme sole, and Narcissa Martin Boulware, guardian of the estate of Olive Elizabeth Martin, a minor, Cecil C. Boulware, Jr., a minor, and Herbert, Martin Boulware, a minor, and all the unborn grandchildren of I. L. Martin, deceased, were made defendants. The trial court appointed W. C. McClain as guardian ad litem for Cecil C. Boulware, Jr,, and Hubert Martin Boulware, both minors, and attorney ad litem to represent the unborn grandchildren of I. L. Martin, deceased. The case was tried to the court without a jury upon stipulated facts. The judgment entered construed the language of trust provisions as contained in said will sufficiently broad as to empower the testamentary trustee with authority to execute and deliver an oil and gas lease on the land described in plaintiff’s petition, and that all the life tenants and remaindermen were bound by the terms and provisions of said lease so as to vest the appellee Sinclair Prairie Oil Company with a vested leasehold mineral estate. From this judgment the defendants, represented by W. C. McClain under the appointment of the court, being the grandchildren and unborn grandchildren 'of I. L. Martin, deceased, have prosecuted this appeal.

[537]*537The appellants contend that the trial court erred in concluding, as a matter of law, that the language of the trust provisions as contained in said will empowered the testamentary trustee with authority to execute and deliver the oil and gas lease in question and that both life tenants and re-maindermen were bound by its terms.

On December 10, 1934, I. L. Martin executed and published his last will and testament. The provisions of said will pertinent to the question here presented are as follows :

Subdivision “II. It is my desire that my brother J. B. Martin, shall have the undivided interest which I own in the lands situated in Montgomery County, Texas, belonging to the estate of my father, John Martin, deceased, and also the interest in all land situated in Montgomery County, Texas, that I may hereafter inherit from and through my mother. Should my mother survive me, and if any of my children should inherit an interest in any lands in Montgomery County, Texas, now owned by her from and through her, it is my wish and I hereby request them to convey such, interest in such lands to my brother, J. B. Martin.

“III. All of the remainder of my estate which I may own or may be entitled to on the date of my death, of every kind and character, I give, devise annd bequeath to my brother, J. B. Martin, in trust for the use and benefit of my children, Narcissa Martin, John Martin, I. L. Martin, Jr., Mary Jo Martin, Rose Marie Martin, and Olive Elizabeth Martin, during the period of their natural lives. And I do hereby appoint my brother, the said J. B. Martin, Trustee for the purposes above stated, and do hereby authorize and direct him to manage, control, and dispose of said property and devote the revenues and income arising from said property to the support and maintenance of my said children.

“I do hereby fully authorize and empower said trustee to dispose of the livestock and other personal property belonging to my estate as and when it may seem to him to be to the best interest of my estate to do so, and to reinvest the funds derived from' same, if such funds are not needed by him for the support and maintenance of my children.-

“It is my desire and I hereby direct and empower my said Trustee to keep possession and control of the real estate which I own at the time of my death situated in the Z. Landrum League, the William Rankin League, and the Noah Griffith League during the lives of my children above named, and to use the rents and revenues derived from same for the upkeep of said lands and for the support and benefit of my said children; and, it is my will that my said children shall share equally in such rents and revenues and other income from my estate during their lifetime.

“Should any of my children above named' desire to make their home upon the above described lands, it is my desire and I hereby direct said Trustee to permit them to do so and to set aside for their use such part of said property as to him may seem just and equitable, having regard for the rights of such other of my children who may not desire to make their home on said lands, and to permit them to use such part of said property as he may set aside for their use, rent free.

“Should my deceased wife’s mother, Mrs. Mary H. .Willis, desire to make her home with any of my chidren upon the lands hereinabove mentioned, it is my will, and I here direct, said Trustee to permit her to dó so, arid in such event, to provide for her support and maintenance to the same extent and in the same manner that he has been directed herein to provide for the support and maintenance of my said children.

“It is my will and I here bequeath, when the trust hereinabove created has terminated, the fee simple title to the lands above described to the heirs of the body of my children above named, share and share alike.”

I. L. Martin died March 11, 1937, and his will was thereafter duly probated in the probate court of Montgomery County, where he resided at the time of his death. J. B. Martin assumed the duties as trustee under said will and acting under the authority of paragraph 2 of subdivision III sold at least a part of the livestock, to-wit, cattle, belonging to the trust estate and [538]*538thereafter on the lith day of July, 1938, invested a part or all of the proceeds from the sale of the cattle in the tract of land which is covered by the oil and gas leases here in question, such leases having been executed by J. B. Martin, trustee under the will of I. L. Martin, and Narcissa Martin Boulware and husband, C. C. Boulware, John W. Martin, I. L. Martin, Jr., Mary Jo Martin, a feme sole, Rose Marie Martin, a feme sole, and Olive Elizabeth Martin, a minor by guardian being all the children of I. L. Martin, deceased. No oil well had been drilled and there were none in the process of drilling on the lands covered by the lease on the date of the trial of this case.

It is appellants’ contention that the words “to manage, control and dispose of said property’’ as contained in subdivision III of said will should not be construed as granting the trustee the power to sell or execute oil and gas leases upon the real estate belonging to the trust estate. In this connection they call our attention to the provisions of paragraph 3 of subdivision III of said will which contains this provision “It is my desire and I hereby direct and empower my said trustee to keep possession and control of real estate which I own at the time of my death situated in the Z.

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Bluebook (online)
219 S.W.2d 536, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1670, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boulware-v-sinclair-prairie-oil-co-texapp-1949.