Hahn v. Verret

11 N.W.2d 551, 143 Neb. 820, 1943 Neb. LEXIS 142
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 22, 1943
DocketNos. 31569, 31570
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 11 N.W.2d 551 (Hahn v. Verret) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hahn v. Verret, 11 N.W.2d 551, 143 Neb. 820, 1943 Neb. LEXIS 142 (Neb. 1943).

Opinion

Wenke, J.

This action was commenced in the district court for Adams county by Karl E. Hahn, as plaintiff, against Mary Marguerite Verret, George L. Verret, and the Omaha National Bank, as executor of the estate of Mary Hahn, deceased, as defendants, for the purpose of quieting title in [822]*822and to the lands described therein, which are located in Adams county, to construe the will of Mary Hahn, deceased, particularly with reference to the rights of Mary Marguerite Verret, named as legatee therein, and to enjoin the defendants from in any way interfering with the possession or collection of rents since December 22, 1940. The action was dismissed as to George L. Verret who is the husband of the defendant Mary Marguerite Verret. From a decree finding generally in favor of the plaintiff and that the defendant Mary Marguerite Verret had no rights in or to said premises under the will of Mary Hahn, deceased, quieting title in the plaintiff and permanently enjoining the defendants from molesting the plaintiff’s possession and collection of rents therefrom which accrued after December 22, 1940, the defendants Mary Marguerite Verret and the Omaha National Bank, as executor of the estate of Mary Hahn, deceased, have taken separate appeals to this court.

By stipulation of the parties the separate appeals were consolidated and are considered and disposed of by this opinion. For the purpose of this record, Karl E. Hahn, the appellee, will be referred to as Hahn; Mary Marguerite Verret, appellant, will be referred to as Mrs. Verret; and the Omaha National Bank, as executor of the estate of Mary Hahn, deceased, appellant, will be referred to as the executor.

The record discloses that Mary Hahn and Leopold Hahn. were the parents of Karl E. Hahn and Edith ,Hahn and lived in Omaha, Nebraska. That Leopold Hahn died in about 1915 and Mary Hahn died on December 22, 1940. Karl E. Hahn is now a resident of Chicago, Illinois, and has been for a number of years and at the time of the trial he was 58 years of age. He left home at the age of 18 years, but had always remained on friendly terms with his parents and had visited his mother about once a year up until the time of her death. After the death of his father he generally looked after the property of his mother, including the farm in Adams county,.and collected the income and rents therefrom and remitted the same to her. The [823]*823daughter, Edith Hahn, married Jess Rhine and unto this marriage was born the granddaughter Mary Marguerite Rhine. About a year after her birth in 1908, the mother, Edith Rhine, died and the son-in-law and granddaughter continued to live in the home of Mary and Leopold Hahn where she remained until she married George L. Verret in 1932. In the meantime her father remarried in 1927 and moved out of the Hahn home. After the granddaughter’s marriage she left Omaha for some time and did not again take up her residence with her grandmother Hahn until 1934 when Mary Hahn bought a residence on North Forty-fifth street and gave it to her granddaughter, Mrs. Verret, paying from her funds thereon the sum of $4,350. Mrs. Hahn and the Verrets lived in this home for about a year when they all moved to Nebraska City where they lived until Mrs. Hahn was confined to a sanitarium about the first of the year 1940 where she remained until the date of her death. The relationship between Mary Hahn and her granddaughter and husband was at- all times friendly.

On May 13, 1933, Mary Hahn made a last will and testament which was allowed and admitted to probate in the county court of Douglas county on May 19, 1941, the principal part of which, for the purposes of this appeal, are paragraphs one, two, and four, which are as follows:

“I. I give, devise and bequeath unto my son, Karl E. Hahn, now of Chicago, Illinois, in fee all of my real estate wheresoever situate; it being my intention that he shall have the real estate as his own and to do with it as he pleases.

“II. I give, devise and bequeath unto my granddaughter, Mary Marguerite Verret, Five Thousand ($5,000.00) Dollars in cash or in securities of a value equal to Five Thousand ($5,000.00) Dollars; it being my desire in making this specific bequest to my said granddaughter that this money be used by my said granddaughter for the purchase of a home, but that this bequest of Five Thousand ($5,000.-00) Dollars I give to my said granddaughter absolutely and without any restrictions. * * *

[824]*824“IV. I hereby direct, authorize and empower my executors, while in possession and control of this estate, to manage the said estate with full power and authority in the discretion of said executors and in the same manner and to the same extent as I could do if living, to retain any or all property, whether real, personal or mixed, which I may own at the time of my death, subject to the terms of this Will, of to sell at public or private sale, convey with 'or without covenants of warranty, to execute, acknowledge and deliver to any purchaser or purchasers thereof good and sufficient deeds or other instruments of transfer, to lease for any term, exchange all or any of said property, to borrow money, to make promissory notes, bonds or other obligations, and to renew or extend same or any part thereof as security therefor.”

This will named Karl E. Hahn and the Omaha National Bank as coexecutors but Karl E. Hahn resigned and failed to qualify and the bank was appointed executor and qualified as such. The county court fixed a time for filing claims and notice thereof was published and on September 13, 1941, order was entered barring the further filing of claims. Thereafter the executor filed its final report and petition for the settlement of the estate on November 21, 1941, notice of which was published and hearing was set for December 22, 1941, but was postponed and no order has been entered approving said final account or ordering the final disposition of the estate. However, on May 27, 1942, pursuant to application of the executor for directions regarding its administration of the assets of the estate, the county court entered an order construing the will to provide that the $5,000 legacy of Mrs. Verret should be paid in any event and directing postponement of the final settlement of the estate and directing the executor to collect the rents from the land herein involved from and after the date of the death of Mary Hahn. From this order Hahn filed a petition in error in the district court for Douglas county on August 24, 1942, which, upon application of Hahn for continuance, was on October 3, 1942, dismissed by the district [825]*825court for Douglas county for the reason that the order appealed from was not a final order. From this dismissal none of the parties took an appeal. This action was commenced by Hahn May 23, 1942. At the time of making her will Mary Hahn owned the real property in Adams county, that being the only real estate she then owned, and had more than sufficient personal property to take care of the legacy which she provided in her last will and testament for Mrs. Verret. However, she used $4,350 of this in 1934 to purchase a home for Mrs. Verret.

During her lifetime Mary Hahn entered into a three-year lease on the Adams county property being from March 1, 1939, to March 1, 1942. This lease, provided for cash rent payable annually as evidenced by notes executed by the lessee at the time of the lease.

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Bluebook (online)
11 N.W.2d 551, 143 Neb. 820, 1943 Neb. LEXIS 142, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hahn-v-verret-neb-1943.