Dailey v. Dailey

224 Ill. App. 17, 1922 Ill. App. LEXIS 225
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedFebruary 23, 1922
DocketGen. No. 6,921
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 224 Ill. App. 17 (Dailey v. Dailey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dailey v. Dailey, 224 Ill. App. 17, 1922 Ill. App. LEXIS 225 (Ill. Ct. App. 1922).

Opinion

Mr. Presiding Justice Dibell

delivered the opinion of the court.

On May 8, 1919, Catherine E. Dailey died, leaving a last will and testament which was duly admitted to probate in the county court of Ogle county. The first paragraph of her will directed the payment of debts. The second paragraph gave her daughter Dora Van-stone, $500, and made it a charge upon the real estate or the proceeds thereof in case of sale. The third paragraph provided for the care of a cemetery lot. The fourth paragraph was as follows:

“Fourth. All the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, real, personal or mixed, I give, devise and bequeath to my daughters Lillie A. Vanstone, Dora Vanstone, and to the children of my son, Hamlin T. Dailey, to-wit: William Dailey, Thomas Dailey, Elmer Dailey and Walter E. Dailey; said Lillie A. Vanstone and Dora Vanstone, each taking an undivided one-third interest therein, and the remaining undivided one-third interest being taken by said children of Hamlin T. Dailey, share and share alike; the children or child or any of said parties that may be deceased taking the place of the parent. In case any of said children of Hamlin T. Dailey should die, prior to my decease, without issue, then in such case such share of such one or ones so dying, shall go to the remaining children of said Hamlin T. Dailey.”

The last paragraph appointed an executor and directed him to sell the real estate within one year after her decease, and divide the proceeds as set forth in the will. This will was made April 18, 1914. On March 3, 1919, she executed a codicil, the body of which was as follows:

“I, Catherine E. Dailey, widow, formerly of the Village of Crestón, now of the City of Bochelle, County of Ogle, and State of Hlinois, having heretofore made and published my last will and testament bearing date the 18th day of April, A. D. 1914, now change and alter the terms and provisions of my said last will and testament in the following particulars, that is to say:

“In Article ‘Second’ of said last will and testament, I hereby expressly revoke the gift and bequest of the sum of Five Hundred Dollars ($500) to my daughter, Dora Vanstone, I now give and bequeath to said Dora Vanstone the total sum of Fifty Dollars ($50).

“In Article ‘Fourth’ of said last will and testament I hereby expressly revoke, the gifts, devises and bequests in the rest, residue and remainder of my estate therein made to my daughters, Lillie A. Vanstone and Dora Vanstone. I now give and bequeath to said Lillie A. Vanstone the total sum of Fifty Dollars ($50).”

Hamlin T. Dailey and one of his adult sons filed an amended bill in the court below for the construction of said will. All proper parties were made defendants, including two minor sons of Hamlin T. Dailey, for whom a guardian ad litem was appointed. All defendants answered and the executor filed a cross-bill in which he sought a construction of the will and also to quiet the title to the real estate. The cause was tried and there was a decree. It was stipulated that all the pleadings, evidence and decree relating to the quieting of title should be omitted from the record on this appeal and the appeal only questions the construction of the will. The court below held that the children of Hamlin T. Dailey took the entire residuum of the estate. Dora Vanstone and Lillie A. Vanstone appeal and claim that two-thirds of the residuum is intestate property and goes equally to the three children, Dora Vanstone, Lillie A. Vanstone and Hamlin T. Dailey, and that is the main question in the case.

In construing a will the intention of the testator is to be sought from the language he has used in the will, and the court is not at liberty to infer that some purpose existed in his mind which he did not express. Bond v. Moore, 236 Ill. 576; Randolph v. Wilkerson, 294 Ill. 508. In the latter case the court said, on p. 516: “We are not permitted to seek for the intention of the testator outside of the express provisions of his will or to add words to his will that will express an intention that he himself has not expressed.” In Illinois Land & Loan Co. v. Bonner, 75 Ill. 315, on p. 327, the court quoted with approval from Red-field on Wills, as follows: ‘ ‘ The plain and unambiguous words of the will must prevail and are not to be controlled or qualified by any conjectural or doubtful constructions, growing out of the situation, circumstances or conditions, either of the testator, his property or family”; and also from Eoper on Legacies, as follows: “Where the testator, in the disposition of his property, overlooks a particular event, which, had it occurred to him, he would in all probability have provided against, the court will not rectify the omission by implying or inserting the necessary clause; conceiving it would be too much like mailing a will for the testator, rather than construing that already made.” In Wixon v. Watson, 214 Ill. 158, the court said: “While it is true that the presumption is always against intestacy, either in whole or in part, where a party has attempted to dispose of his or her estate by will, this is only a presumption and cannot be permitted to overcome the expressed language of the will. Where a testator or testatrix has failed to dispose of a part of his or her property but leaves the same as intestate estate, courts have no power to place upon the will a construction not justified by the language used.” In Schmidt v. Schmidt, 292 Ill. 275, on pp. 281 and" 282, the court surmises various provisions which might have been intended by the testator, and then says: “We may not guess the intention which the testator would have expressed if he had expressed his desire. Unless we can find the intention written in the will we cannot give it effect.” Applying these principles in Randolph v. Wilkinson, supra, the court on p. 516 said: “We are not permitted to seek for the intention of the testator outside of the expressed provisions of his will or to add words to his will that will express an intention that he himself has not expressed.” A testator cannot disinherit an heir at law by his will unless he gives-his estate to some one else. In Lawrence v. Smith, 163 Ill. 149, the testator expressly stated in the will that Ms son, Fred, should have nothing whatever from his estate because he was serving a sentence for murder. But it was determined that most of the estate must pass to the heirs at law by statute, and that therefore the son, Fred, would inherit with the other heirs. In Parsons v. Millar, 189 Ill. 107, the will plainly excluded five children from all interest in the estate, except what he gave them in certain paragraphs. But part of his estate passed as intestate property and it was held that these five children shared therein with the other heirs. See also Belleville Sav. Bank v. Aneshaensel, 298 Ill. 292.

Applying these principles, we are of the opinion that the present case comes within the authority of Minkler v. Simons, 172 Ill. 323. In that case the original will directed that the real estate be sold after the death of the wife, and the proceeds divided between three children, share and share alike. By a codicil he revoked that will, so far as one of said three children, Thomas, was concerned, and provided that on a final settlement Thomas should be paid $1,200. The codicil made no provision for the other one-third of the estate, which had previously been devised to Thomas. The court said:

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Bluebook (online)
224 Ill. App. 17, 1922 Ill. App. LEXIS 225, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dailey-v-dailey-illappct-1922.