Critchell v. Brown

72 Ind. 539
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1880
DocketNo. 7925
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 72 Ind. 539 (Critchell v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Critchell v. Brown, 72 Ind. 539 (Ind. 1880).

Opinions

Niblack, C. J.

— With some condensation in the mere phraseology, the complaint in this case may be stated as follows :

Mary Ayers Critchell and Robert S. Critchell, her husband, and John W. Moody complain of Jesse J. Brown and Bilas C. Day, executors of the last will of Mary A. Lapsley, ■deceased, and say, that the said Mary A. Ci-itchell and John W. Moody are the children and only heirs at law of Catharine Silliman Moody, formerly Catharine Silliman Hillyer, who died intestate on the 25th day of April, 1850 ; that, on the 29th day of December, 1840, one Elias Ayers, a resident of Floyd county, in this State, made and published his hol■ographic last will and testament, whereby, amongst other bequests, he bequeathed to the said Catharine Silliman Hill-yer, who was his niece, one thousand dollars, to be paid, at least, at the death of her aunt, the said Mary A. Lapsley, who was then the wife of the said Elias Ayers, and known by the name of Mary A. Ayers, and as much sooner as, in the judgment of his executrix, might be deemed best after the said Catharine became of age, leaving it discretionary with his said executrix to make such further provision for her, the said Catharine, to the amount of five thousand dollars, or even more, as she, the executrix, might think best, and as the good conduct of the said Catharine might merit; •that, further on, by the third item of his said will, the said [541]*541Elias Ayers devised and bequeathed to his said wife, then the said Mary A. Ayers, who was the aunt of the said Catharine, all the rest and residue of his estate, both real and personal, after the payment of his debts, and after the payment of certain other specific legacies named in said will; that the said Elias Ayers further provided in said third item of his will,'that, in order to avoid all dispute and controversy amongst friends or relatives, he wished it distinctly understood that the provisions of his said will were made after-long and serious reflection, and were the result of his best judgment, and that he wished all of its provisions carried into full and complete effect, to the exclusion of friends and. relatives not therein named.

And, by the same clause, the said Elias Ayers also declared that it was also his wish that the said Mary A. Ayers, his wife, who was made his sole executrix by said will, at her death, should give the greater part of her property to benevolent objects, and that, should she die without a will, he, the said Elias Ayers, devised and bequeathed, with the exception hereinafter named, the whole of his property, both real and personal, to the trustees of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, which exception was that he wished five thousand dollars to be given to his' beloved niece, Catharine Silliman Hillyer, above named, and a like sum to her brother,William Silliman Hill-yer, the residue only to go to the trustees of the Presbyterian church as above directed; that afterward, on the 10th day of January, 1842, the said Elias Ayers died, without revoking or in any way modifying or changing his said will, which will was duly proven and admitted to probate, in said county of Floyd, and the said Mary A. Ayers was thereupon duly qualified as the sole executrix of the same, and took into her exclusive possession all the estate, both personal and real, of the said testator, to an amount much more than sufficient to pay his funeral expenses, his just debts, the [542]*542legacies and bequests specified in the first and second items of Ms said will, and all other testamentary expenses whatever; that the said testator left no children or grandchildren; that the said Catharine, in the year 1836, being then nine years of age, was taken by the testator to his home in New Albany, in this State, where she was kindly reared and educated by him ; that the said Catharine reciprocated the kindness of the testator to her with her services and by general good conduct so long as she remained with him, and with his said widow, Mary A. Ayers, and until the day of her •death ; that when said will was made, and up to the time of his death, the investments of the said Elias Ayers were chiefly in real estate, and all that period of time was, as he well knew, a period of financial trouble and uncertainty in which real estate was of an uncertain value; and, although he was then worth in property fifty thousand ($50,000.00) dollars, such a valuation did not become stable and permanent until after his death; that, prior to the 26th day of October, 1848, when the said Catharine became twenty-one years of age, all the just debts and specific legacies, named in the first paragraph of said will, had been fully paid, leaving a residuary personal estate in the sole possession and use ■of the said Mary A. Ayers of the value of at least fifty thousand dollars, and which has since continued to be of that value, and that, at all times from the making of said will until the death of the said Catharine, her good conduct merited the further provision made for her in the second item of the will to the extent of at least five thousand dollars ; that in April, 1849, the said Mary A. Ayers intermarried with one Philip Lindley, and that after his death she intermarried with one William Richardson, and that after his death she intermarried with one Robert A. Lapsley, whom she also survived ; that finally on the 1st day of June, 1878, the said Mary A. Lapsley died testate, and, although she provided by her will for the payment of the amount of [543]*543five thousand dollars to the widow of William Silliman Hill-yer,- herein above named, she did not make any provision for the payment to the plaintiffs of a similar sum, or of any part thereof; that, at the time of the death of the said Mary A. Lapsley, she was seized and possessed of all the remain- - ing estate, both real and personal, of the said Elias Ayers, •amounting to much more than sufficient- to pay all the debts •and charges against his estate, and the specific legacies enumerated in and provided for by his will, together with the •■additional sum to which the plaintiffs claim to be entitled as the children and heirs-at-law of the said Catharine, under said will; that the plaintiffs are unable to state the exact value of the residue of property left by the said Elias Ayers remaining in the hands of the said Mary A. Lapsley at the time of her death, as she never filed any inventory of the personal estate of her said testator, nor at any time made any report concerning, or settlement of, his estate; that said estate was, however, never of less value than fifty thousand dollars since the said Catharine arrived at full age ; that, on the 10th day of September, 1844, the said Catharine intermarried with one James C. Moody, and at her death left the plaintiffs, Mary A. Critchell and John W. Moody, and one Catharine H. Moody, as her only children surviving her ; that the said Catharine H. Moody afterward, in the year 1850, while yet an infant, died intestate and without issue, and not indebted to any one; that on the 14th day of September, 1875, and before the commencement of this suit, the said James C. Moody, by a proper instrument in writing, assigned to the said plaintiffs, Mary A. Critchell and John W. Moody, all his right, title and interest in and to the money claimed in this action; that, by the terms of the said will of the said Elias Ayers, the said Mary A. Lapsley was created a trustee to pay to the said Catharine A. Moody the sum of five thousand dollars, which the said .Elias Ayers had directed to be paid as above set forth, yet [544]*544the said Mary A. Lapsley did not, in her lifetime, pay the said sum of money, or any part thereof, to the said Catharine A.

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Bluebook (online)
72 Ind. 539, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/critchell-v-brown-ind-1880.