Dunn v. Vinyard

234 S.W. 99, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 977
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 5, 1921
DocketNo. 2389.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 234 S.W. 99 (Dunn v. Vinyard) 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
Dunn v. Vinyard, 234 S.W. 99, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 977 (Tex. Ct. App. 1921).

Opinion

WILLSON, C. J.

(after stating the facts as above). The property E. E. Dunn undertook to dispose of by his will belonged to the community estate between him and his wife, Mary E. Dunn. Hence the latter, unless she had parted with her right thereto by electing in lieu of it to take the provision made for her in said will, at the time of her death owned an undivided one-half of the property (article 4622, Vernon’s Sayles’ Statutes), which half by force of her will passed to her sister, Mrs. Leana Vinyard. The trial court, being of opinion that the testimony did not warrant a finding that Mrs. Dunn elected to take under her husband’s will, instructed the jury to return a verdict in favor of her devisee, said Leana Vinyard. The main contention presented by the assignments is that the instruction was erroneous, because, appellants insist, it conclusively appeared from testimony that Mrs. Dunn did so elect, or, if it did not so appear, that the testimony made an issue as to whether she did or not, which should have been submitted to the jury.

[1] It appeared from testimony relied on as supporting the contention that Mrs. Dunn, understanding that her husband had undertaken by his will to dispose of the entire community estate between them, expressed herself as satisfied with said will, acted with other persons named with her as executors in having it probated, thereafter with said other persons qualified as one of the executors, and with them returned an inventory in which said community property was mentioned as property of the estate of said E. E. Dunn; as executrix joined W. E. Dunn, an executor, in drawing checks against funds belonging to said community estate to pay debts it owed, and as such executrix joined J. N. Edens, also an executor, in loaning money belonging to said estate; continued after the death of E. E. Dunn, until she died, to use and occupy their homestead, and during that time used about $35 a month of money *102 belonging to said community estate for her own support and the support and maintenance of the testator’s daughter Mrs. Wright.

It is plain that the facts mentioned did not demand a finding that Mrs. Dunn elected to take under her husband’s will, and we think it is also plain, when those facts are considered with reference to applicable rules, that they did not warrant a finding that she so elected.

“Election is analogous to estoppel. It is hardly more than one kind of estoppel.’’ Chief Justice Andrews, of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, in Bank v. Curran, 72 Conn. 342, 44 Atl. 473.
“Estoppel in pais only arises when manifest justice and equity, as respects the interest of another, requires its application.’’ Mr. Justice Dewey, in Pitts v. Cook, 5 Cush. (Mass.) 596.
“To raise an inference of election from the party’s conduct merely, it must appear that he knew of his right to elect, and not merely of the instrument giving such right, and that he had full knowledge of all the facts concerning the properties. As an election is necessarily a definite choice by the party to take one of the properties and to reject the other, his conduct, in order that an election may be inferred, must be done with an intention to elect, and must show such an intention.” 1 Pomeroy, Equity, § 515.
“Some free, disposable property must be given to the electing donee which can become compensation for what the testator sought to take away.” Chief Justice Stayton, in Smith v. Butler, 85 Tex. 126, 19 S. W. 1083, quoting from Bigelow on Estoppel.
“In the absence of an express election, it must be shown that she [the widow] received something of value under the will to which she was not entitled otherwise.” Chief Justice Finley, in McClary v. Duckworth, 57 S. W. 317.

As further stating and illustrating the principles applicable, see 2 Alex, on Wills, §§ 813, 826, 828; 40 Cyc. 1971, 1977, 1978; Pryor v. Pendleton, 92 Tex. 384, 47 S. W. 706, 49 S. W. 212; Campbell v. Campbell, 215 S. W. 134; Slavin v. Greever, 209 S. W. 479; Ry. Co. v. Somerville, 179 S. W. 671; Payne v. Farley, 178 S. W. 793; Williams v. Emberson, 22 Tex. Civ. App. 522, 55 S. W. 595; Carroll v. Carroll, 20 Tex. 731; Waggoner v. Waggoner, 111 Va. 325, 68 S. E. 990, 30 L. R. A. (N. S.) 644; Showalter’s Ex’rs v. Showaiter’s Widow, 107 Va. 713, 60 S. E. 48; Owens v. Andrews, 17 N. M. 597, 131 Pac. 1004, 49 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1072.

It is clear there was not an express election by Mrs. Dunn to take under the will. 1 Pomeroy Eq. § 514. So the question is, Was there testimony from which an inference that she elected so to take could have been drawn reasonably? While It appeared, as stated above, that Mrs. Dunn knew her husband had undertaken by his will to dispose of the entire community estate between them, as we understand the record, there was no testimony showing she knew of what that estate consisted, or its value, nor what the rents, revenues, etc., thereof amounted to annually; and certainly there was no testimony showing that she knew she had a right to elect whether she would take under the will or not until she was so advised by her attorney about two weeks before she died. There is no pretense in the testimony that after that time she did or said anything indicating an intention to take under the will. On the contrary, the testimony indicates that, after she was advised by her attorney that she had such a right, she then determined, if she had not done so before, not to take thereunder.

And it did not appear, as it must have to have warranted a finding that Mrs. Dunn elected to take under the will, that it gave her “free, disposable property” she otherwise would not have been entitled to. The property belonging to the community estate was worth about $30,000, and consisted of lands, indebtedness due the estate, and $5,811.53 in money, subject to check in banks. Mrs. Dunn owned half, or about $15,000 worth, of the property, and was entitled to the “rents, revenues, profits, interest and income” derivable from that half, and to the use of the homestead while she lived, in lieu of all of which, had she elected to take under the will, she would have been entitled to the use of the homestead, perhaps, and, in addition thereto, at most, to the “rents, revenues, profits, interest and income” derivable from all, instead of half, the property, but charged, it should be noted, with the support and maintenance in a comfortable manner of the testator’s daughter Mrs. Wright. That, we say, is the most she would have been entitled to. She probably would have taken less, for, when the devise to her is considered with refer-, ence to the fourth and sixth items in the will, we are inclined to think it should be construed as giving to her only such part of the rents, revenues, etc., of the property as was necessary to comfortably support her and Mrs. Wright, and that the testator intended that the excess, if any, of such rents, revenues, etc., above the part thereof necessary for that purpose should be added to the corpus of the property and distributed with it after the death of Mrs. Dunn and Mrs. Wright among the other devisees nam'ed in the will. It will not be out of place to note here that, while the testator seems to have provided, as stated, for the disposition of any excess of income above the amount necessary to support Mrs. Dunn and Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
234 S.W. 99, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 977, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dunn-v-vinyard-texapp-1921.