Hauschild v. Hauschild

126 N.W.2d 192, 176 Neb. 319, 1964 Neb. LEXIS 192
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 31, 1964
Docket35539
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 126 N.W.2d 192 (Hauschild v. Hauschild) 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
Hauschild v. Hauschild, 126 N.W.2d 192, 176 Neb. 319, 1964 Neb. LEXIS 192 (Neb. 1964).

Opinion

Boslaugh, J.

This is an action to construe the will of Harry Hauschild who died January 12, 1957. The will was admitted to probate in the county court of Cass County, Nebraska,, on January 25, 1957.

The testator was survived by his widow, Emma Hauschild, and three children, Harold Hauschild, Charlotte Mohr Eilers, and Eileen Smith. Harold Hauschild is the plaintiff and appellant. The defendants and appellees áre Emma; Charlotte, her husband and children; Eileen and her husband; the children of Harold; and the successor trustee under the will. All of the defendants defaulted except the trustee and the children of Harold and Charlotte. who are represented-by a guardian ad litem.

The controversy relates to paragraph 4 of the will which provides as follows: “4. I give, devise, and bequeath all of my real estate to Paul E. Fauquet as Trustee, for the following uses and purposes:

“(a) That he shall keep all of the rest of the lands rented and keep the buildings in repair and the land in conservation and in a high state of fertility so long as the funds for that purpose shall be adequate and still leave an adequate sum for the support of my wife.

“.(b) . That he shall permit my wife to occupy the residence on the home-farm, together with such ground as she shall require for her personal needs, so long as she shall desire the same, or for her lifetime.

“(c) That he pay the net rentals, after expenses, to my wife for her support, keeping a suitable reserve for any forseeable emergency.

*321 “ (d) That after the death of my wife, he make division of my estate among my children, as nearly equally as may be, with authority to sell all or any part of the real estate, as may in his judgment seem necessary or adviseable (sic), without the requirement of the approval of any Court, in order to effect such equal partition without imposing any undue or unnecessary hardship upon any of my children.

“(e) That for the protection of the share which is allotted to my daughter, Charlotte Mohr, it shall not be distributed to her in cash, nor placed in property that is disposable by her during her lifetime, but she shall be entitled to income from such property during her lifetime and at her death all of such property, in whatever form, shall descend to her lineal descendants by right of representation.

“ (f) That for the protection of the share which is allotted to my son, Harold Hauschild, it shall not be distributed to him in cash, nor placed in property that is disposable by him during his lifetime, or shall either the property nor the income therefrom, during his lifetime, shall be subject to his debts whomsoever, but all of said property shall be held by the Trustee together with the income therefore, however, the Trustee shall have the right and authority in his discretion to distribute all or a part of the income therefrom to my said son, as in his judgment he sees fit, and at the death of my said son, all of which property together with any remaining income in the hands of the Trustee shall descend to his lineal descendants by right of representation.

“ (g) That in order to effectuate the foregoing paragraphs, the Trustee shall have full power and authority to invest the proceeds of sale of real estate in securities approved by the laws of Nebraska for the investment of trust funds, or he may, if, in his judgment it is for the best interest of the beneficiaries of these funds, invest such funds in real estate, or he may buy and sell either securities or real estate and reinvest the proceeds there *322 of as in his judgment is for the best interests of the beneficiaries thereof.

“(h) That my Trustee shall have discretion in determining the price to be set for the transfer of any of my real estate to any of my children in partition of my estate in that he is not required to obtain from him or them as high a price as might conceivably obtained upon a public sale.”

At the time of his death, the testator owned 400 acres of land and an undivided one-half interest in another 120 acres of land in Cass County, Nebraska. The real estate was subject to a mortgage in the amount of $12,744.72.

The decedent left personal property in the amount of $16,587.50. Claims in the amount of $39,959.37 were filed against the estate. In order to raise funds with which to pay claims and expenses, the administratrix sold a 40-acre tract for $5,000 and placed a mortgage in the amount of $30,000 upon the other real estate.

Within the time provided by law, the widow elected to take under the statute instead of under the will. The widow also claimed her homestead rights in a 160-acre tract. Thus, the widow now has an undivided one-third interest in all of the land owned by the deceased together with a life estate in the 160-acre tract.

One of the contentions made by the plaintiff is that the election of the widow destroyed the plan and purpose of the testator and that as a result thereof the will should be declared inoperative. The rule is that the renunciation of a will by a widow will not be allowed to break the testamentary plan further than is absolutely necessary. If, after the widow’s portion has been set aside, the estate of the decedent is left in such condition that the remaining provisions of the will can be carried out according to the testator’s intent, the will will not be declared inoperative. In re Estate of Grobe, 101. Neb. 786, 165 N. W. 252.

The testamentary plan in this case was to give the *323 net income from the land to the widow for her use during her life. Upon the death of the widow, the property was to be divided equally among the children of the testator, but the shares of two of the children were tó be held in trust. These two children were to receive only the income, or a part of the income, from their shares of the property. On their death their shares of the property were to descend to their lineal descendants by right of representation.

The election of the widow in this case had the effect of diminishing the amount of property in which the children will share, but the testamentary plan is not otherwise destroyed. Under the circumstances in this case the election of the widow did not destroy the testamentary plan and the will is operative upon the property remaining after the widow’s portion of the estate is set aside.

The principal contention of the plaintiff is that Charlotte and the plaintiff are not restricted to the income, or a part of the income, from their shares of the property, but that they each take their shares of the property absolutely. In support of this contention, the plaintiff relies upon the Uniform Property Act, section 76-110, R. R. S. 1943, and the rule against perpetuities.

Section 76-110, R. R. S. 1943, provides as follows: “The creation of fees simple conditional as they existed under the law of England prior to the ‘statute de donis’ is not permitted. The creation of fees tail is not permitted. The use in an otherwise effective conveyance of property, of language appropriate to create such a fee simple conditional or a fee tail, creates a fee simple in the person who would have taken a fee simple conditional or a fee tail.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
126 N.W.2d 192, 176 Neb. 319, 1964 Neb. LEXIS 192, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hauschild-v-hauschild-neb-1964.