Fish v. Berzel

101 N.W.2d 557, 1960 N.D. LEXIS 54
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 17, 1960
DocketNo. 7859
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 101 N.W.2d 557 (Fish v. Berzel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fish v. Berzel, 101 N.W.2d 557, 1960 N.D. LEXIS 54 (N.D. 1960).

Opinion

MORRIS, Judge.

The last will and testament of George Berzel dated June 2, 1956 was admitted to [561]*561probate in the County Court of Stark County on July 30, 1956. The petitioner in that proceeding was Mary Berzel who was named in the will as executrix. The respondents were Mary Fish, St. Joseph Church of Dickinson, N. D., and Katho-lisches Schwestern Haus. The probate proceeded to a point where an order was entered allowing the final report and account of the executrix and a decree of distribution rendered and entered, both dated March 7, 1958. Mary Fish appealed from both the order and the decree to the District Court of Stark County. The matter was there tried de novo to the court without a jury. The district court rendered judgment on June 9, 1959 vacating and setting aside the order and decree and directing the county court to require a further final account and report not inconsistent with the judgment and the rendition of a final decree of distribution in conformity with the decision of the district court and with a judgment of the district court which had been entered in an action in that court brought by Mary Fish as plaintiff therein and Mary Berzel personally and as executrix of the last will and testament of George Berzel, deceased, as the defendant, for the specific performance of an adoption contract. The judgment rendered, in the action for specific performance was appealed to this court and affirmed. See Fish v. Berzel, N.D., 101 N.W.2d 548.

Mary Berzel personally and as executrix of the last will and testament of George Berzel, deceased, has appealed to this court from the judgment rendered on the appeal from county court to the district court and has demanded a trial de novo herein.

The last will and testament of George Berzel, deceased, made the following specific bequests: (1). $150 to the Mass Foundation of St. Joseph’s Church of Dickinson; (2) $100 to St. Joseph’s Church of Dickinson; (3) $1,000 to Katholisches Schwestern Haus, Engels Gasse, Speyer am Rhein, Germany, for the care of the decedent’s sister, Elizabeth Breitschafter, for the rest of her natural life; (4) personal effects of the deceased, household furniture, and any automobile owned by the deceased at the time of his death to his wife, Mary Berzel. The residue of the estate was bequeathed as follows :

“a. To my wife, Mary Berzel, two-thirds (⅜) of all the rest of my property, real, personal and mixed, to have and to hold, forever.
b. To my daughter (though not legally adopted by me, I have always and do consider Mary Fish as my. daughter and wish her to share as a legally adopted daughter) Mary Fish, one-third (i/j) of all of the rest of my property, real, personal and mixed, to have and to hold, Forever.”

Mary Berzel was designated as executrix without bond and given a power of sale to sell the property of the estate at public or private sale.

Mary Berzel challenges determinations of the district court with respect to seven items of the final account and report as approved in the county court which were disallowed or modified by the district court. The facts and contentions of the parties with respect to these items will be set forth and considered separately.

The first item consists of 24 U. S. Savings Bonds Series E having a total value of $9,742.20. A one-half interest in these bonds in the sum of $4,871.10 was listed in the amended inventory for estate tax purposes. Neither the bonds nor any interest therein was shown in the final report-as an asset of the estate or included in the order allowing the final report and account or in the decree of distribution. The bonds were payable to George Berzel or Mary Berzel. Thus they were co-owners of the bonds.

Section 47-0206, NDRC 1943 provides that:

“A joint interest is one owned by several persons in equal shares by a [562]*562title created by a single will or transfer, when expressly declared in the will or transfer to be a joint tenancy, or when granted or devised to executors or trustees as joint tenants.”

It is the contention of Mary Fish that because the bonds on their face do not state them to be held in joint tenancy nor is any provision for survivorship contained therein that the interest of the payees is that of a tenant in common and that no right of survivorship exists with the result that upon the death of George Berzel it must be presumed that Mary Berzel owns a half interest and that the other half interest vested in the estate, became an asset thereof and must be distributed under the terms of the will.

Mary Berzel contends that the right of survivorship is supplied by the Treasury regulations under which Series E bonds are issued and that the purchase of the bonds by George Berzel must be construed to have been made pursuant to the regulations which it is argued provide the express declaration of survivorship.

One-half of the value of the bonds appears to have been included in the inventory in compliance with Section 57-3706, NDRC 1943 which provides that the gross estate of a decedent for estate tax purposes shall include the value of interests in property held as joint tenants and that the value of the interest of the decedent in such property shall be determined by dividing the value of the property by the number of joint tenants. The mere listing of an interest in the bonds in the inventory does not have the effect of making that interest an asset of the estate.

This court has considered two cases involving the rights of co-owners or their estates in Series E savings bonds. Littlejohn v. County Judge, Pembina County, 79 N.D. 550, 58 N.W.2d 278, 283, 39 A.L.R.2d 690, involved a gift inter vivos by one co-owner to another of Series E and Series G savings bonds. In rejecting a contention that such a gift was contrary to Treasury regulations, we said:

“As we read this and other federal regulations, when a bond of the co-owner type is issued, each co-owner becomes vested with a present interest in the bond, and the bond itself and the regulations confer the right of survivorship upon the co-owner. There is nothing in these regulations to prohibit the transfer from one co-owner to the other of his interest in the bond. It is true, of course, that such a transfer cannot in any way impair the right of the United States to discharge its obligation under the bond in the manner provided by the bond and regulations by making payment to the survivor, but the preservation of that right in the government does not result in the abrogation of the right of one co-owner to transfer to the other co-owner, by gift inter vivos or otherwise, his interest in jointly owned property and the transfer of such an interest by one co-owner to another is not a violation of the regulatory provisions prohibiting transfer of United States Savings Bonds.”

See: Silverman v. McGinnes, 3 Cir., 259 F.2d 731; Annotation 39 A.L.R.2d 698.

In re Kaspari's Estate, N.D., 71 N.W.2d 558, 563, also involved Series E Savings bonds. Martin Kaspari was survived by his widow, Inez Mae Kaspari, and six daughters. He had executed a will in which his wife was appointed executrix.

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Related

In Re Berzel's Estate
101 N.W.2d 557 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1960)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
101 N.W.2d 557, 1960 N.D. LEXIS 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fish-v-berzel-nd-1960.