Crawford v. Couch

15 N.W.2d 633, 234 Iowa 1246, 1944 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 462
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedSeptember 19, 1944
DocketNo. 46494.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 15 N.W.2d 633 (Crawford v. Couch) 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
Crawford v. Couch, 15 N.W.2d 633, 234 Iowa 1246, 1944 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 462 (iowa 1944).

Opinion

Wennerstrum, J.—

Margaret Crawford, the plaintiff, brought a suit in equity against her sister, Helen Couch, as an individual, and also against her as executrix of the estate of Mary Couch, deceased. She thereby sought to have a trust impressed upon securities received by the defendant, Helen Couch, from the estate of their mother, Mary Couch, and also upon certain real estate conveyed to the defendant by their mother. The trial court dismissed plaintiff’s petition, holding that the *1248 evidence presented did not sufficiently sustain the allegations of the petition and the amendment thereto. The plaintiff has appealed.

It is appellant’s claim that the mother of the appellant and appellee took possession of securities that rightfully belonged to the estate of her husband, John Couch. It is her further claim that these securities did not thereafter become a part of the estate of Mary Couch but belonged to Margaret Crawford, Julia Roark, and Helen Couch. Appellant seeks to impress a trust on the property given to the \appellee, Helen Couch, by their mother, by will and deed. It is contended the property received from the estate of Mary Couch, as well as the property deeded by the mother to Helen Couch, was an undistributed asset of the unadministered estate of John Couch, and that said property should be divided equally among all of the daughters. It is claimed that the mother had also agreed to make a will that would provide for equal distribution of the mother’s estate to all the daughters.

John and Mary Couch, as previously stated, were husband and wife. John Couch died January 9, 1927,'and Mary Couch died December 21, 1941. The father and mother were both survived by three daughters,-namely, Margaret Crawford, the appellant, Helen Couch, the appellee, and Julia Roark. The real estate involved in this litigation is a home property located in the city of Des Moines. The record discloses that by a deed, dated and acknowledged November 15, 1913, John Couch conveyed this property to his wife, Mary Couch. This deed was recorded on August 12, 1938, approximately twenty-five years after the deed was signed and acknowledged and over three years before the death of Mary Couch. Testimony was given by Helen Couch, the appellee, that she saw the deed in a tin box that her mother had in the home for the keeping of valuable papers. She testified that she first saw the deed in the mother’s box in 1913.

The record further discloses that on September 10, 1927, Helen Couch, then married, and her husband, and also Julia Couch, signed a quitclaim deed conveying the home property to Mary Couch. It is also shown that Margaret Crawford and her husband thereafter signed this deed. The acknowledgment of *1249 the execution of the deed by Margaret Crawford and her husband before a notary was dated November 5,1935.

The evidence also discloses that on September 10, 1927, the same day the quitclaim deed by Helen (’ouch and her husband and Julia Couch was signed, Mary Couch executed a will wherein, after making a small bequest for religious purposes, she willed and bequeathed the remainder of her property to her three daughters. It is also shown’ by the record that Mary Couch executed a second will on October 26, 1935, wherein, after making a small bequest for religious purposes, she left the remainder of her property t.o the appellee, Helen Couch. It is shown by the record that on March 25, 1939, Mary Couch conveyed the home property to her daughter Helen Couch. This deed was recorded March 27, 1940. It will be kept in mind that the mother died December 21, 1941.

It is the claim of appellant in her petition that at the time of the death of John Couch he had personal property in cash and securities of the approximate value of $12,000. It is further alleged that there was no administration upon the estate of John Couch; that Mary Couch took possession of the personal property belonging to the estate of John Couch and also the real estate claimed to be in his name. It is asserted that there was no division or distribution to the heirs, of John Couch and that Mary Couch obtained control and used the real estate and personal property as trustee and for the benefit of her three daughters. It is further contended that she did not in her lifetime renounce the claimed trust, and that by reason of the terms of the will of Mary Couch, wherein she bequeathed and devised all her property to Helen Couch, the appellant and her sister Julia Roark were deprived of any claim, right, or interest in the claimed estate of their father, John Couch. The appellant asked in her petition that the court hold that Mary Couch was trustee of two thirds of the personal property of John Couch and that the executrix of the Mary Couch estate be required to account therefor. Appellant further prayed in her petition that the court decree that the appellant, as plaintiff, be entitled to a two-ninths interest in the home property and the personal property found to belong to John Couch at the time of his death and that said interest be quieted in her. - The appellant in an amendment to *1250 the petition further alleged that the signing of a quitclaim deed by the two older sisters was upon the condition that the mother would make a will bequeathing and devising all of her x>roperty equally among the three daughters, and as to the younger sister, it is alleged that the quitclaim deed was signed by reason of statements made by the mother that such a will had been executed.

J. J. Peel, a brother of Mary Couch, testified that shortly after the death of John Couch in 1927 he»accompanied his sister Mary, the wife of John Couch, to a Des Moines hank and was there when a safe-deposit box was opened. The only persons present at that time were the witness and Mary Couch. He testified that there was $14,500 in cash in the box; also one mortgage of $1,800 and another mortgage of $1,100 that the witness owed. He also testified there was a note of $150 in the box and a further mortgage of $1,800. He stated that he*was sure there was $14,500 in currency in the safe-deposit box and stated that he counted the money. The witness also testified that John Couch worked as a blacksmith for a streetcar company and made the approximate sum of $100 a month. It is also shown that during a portion of the married life of John Couch and Mary Couch they operated a small suburban grocery.

Orpha Peel, wife of J. J. Peel, testified that she had a conversation with Mary Couch on December 28, 1940, in which Mary Couch stated that she still had $12,000 in the safe-deposit box in, the bank vault. The witness stated that Mary Couch did not say where the money came from and further testified that this was the only conversation that she ever had with Mary Couch about these funds. The witness testified that this claimed conversation was in the presence of her husband. However, the witness J. J. Peel did not in his testimony testify as to any conversation that his wife had with Mary Couch on December 28, 1940, which is the date stated by Mrs. Peel in her testimony that Mary Couch admitted that she had $12,000 in cash. In Peel’s testimony he stated that the last time he had a talk with Mary Couch was on January 28, 1940, when she admitted to him she had $12,000 in cash.' In the same portion of Iris testimony he further stated that on December 15,1941, she (Mary Couch) said that she and Helen were going to put it all in postal bonds.

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Bluebook (online)
15 N.W.2d 633, 234 Iowa 1246, 1944 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 462, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crawford-v-couch-iowa-1944.