Heinbach v. Heinbach

202 S.W. 1123, 274 Mo. 301, 1918 Mo. LEXIS 21
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedApril 26, 1918
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 202 S.W. 1123 (Heinbach v. Heinbach) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Heinbach v. Heinbach, 202 S.W. 1123, 274 Mo. 301, 1918 Mo. LEXIS 21 (Mo. 1918).

Opinions

WHITE, C.

This action was brought in the circuit court of Ralls County by the widow of- Samuel Hein-bach to establish his will, it having been rejected by the probate • court. The defendants are the children of Samuel Heinbach by a former marriage. The will was formally executed September 7, 1909; Heinbach died in Ralls County January 3, 1910.

This is the second appeal of this case. Its determination on a former appeal is reported in 262 Mo. 69. On this appeal it presents entirely different questions for solution.

The deceased, Samuel Heinbach, married his first wife, Sarah, at Richmond, Indiana, in 1872-, Of this marriage three, children were born — the defendants in this case. Some time about 1880 or 1885 he left his family in Indiana and came to Pike County, Illinois, where he was employed as farm-hand and wood-chopper. ■ His wife and the two children they then had came to him and for a time lived with him in a cabin in the river bottom on the Illinois side; afterwards they lived for a short time in Hannibal, Missouri. Later, with his familv, he returned to Cambridge, Indiana, where he stayed for some time. He left them again and came back to the Mississippi River bottom and engaged on the Missouri side in a sort of partnership with one Johnson in chopping wood. The two bought a tract of

[308]*308land of fifty-two acres in Ralls County, a few miles south, of Hannibal. This land later was partitioned equally between the two by verbal agreement, which after-wards was ratified by deeds. This happened some time in the middle eighties. Heinbach lived on his half until his death in 1910.

In 1901 a cement plant was erected upon the land adjacent Heinbach’s tract, the town of Ilasco sprang up there and spread out over Heinbach’s land, mating it very valuable. Without filing any plat he laid off his ground in lots and rented out those lots to various persons who built on them. This ground rent amounted to more than a hundred dollars a month — a princely income for him. It probably was this unaccustomed affluence which led to his ruin. He always had a weakness for strong drink, and the testimony shows that from the time the cement plant was established until his death, nearly ten years later, he was almost constantly drunk.

His first wife, back in Indiana, married again about 1896, without troubling herself about first divorcing him. Heinbach, probably in ignorance of that event, procured a divorce from her in 1906, in Ralls County, and married the plaintiff in- the early part of 1909.

The defendants in their answer allege mental incapacity to execute the will, and undue influence. The issue of undue influence was removed from the consideration of the jury by instruction, leaving only the issue of mental capacity for their consideration.

A great number of witnesses were introduced and their testimony fills a record of more than 1200 pages. Every incident which could be found to throw light upon Heinbach’s capacity was described in the evidence. His entire life was lighted up as with Roentgen rays, and exposed to the scrutiny of the jury. The doctors who attended him in sickness, the lawyers who transacted business with him for other people, those who leased lots from him and paid him rent, the nurse he had, his housecleaner, washwoman, butcher, fish peddler, those who sold him vegetables, and groceries, and [309]*309tobacco; those whom lie worked for, those who worked for him .and with him; those who sold him drink and those who got drank with him, were drawn npon without limit to tell what they knew about his habits and characteristics. In the neighborhood of forty witnesses who had known him and had more or less important business transactions with him testified that they thought him sane at the time of signing the will. A much smaller number, -less than half, testified that in their opinion he was insane. It was shown that he was drunk a great part of the time; that he was .of extremely filthy habits, due to an unfortunate ailment which made him a very repulsive object; that he went about the streets in a condition which was very disgusting; that he had • visions of a white horse which was going to ride across his possessions in Ilasco. The account given by the witnesses of that matter leaves one in doubt as to whether the white horse, as he spoke of it, was an apparition or a figure of speech.

Fifty or sixty specific business transactions were detailed by the witnesses, in addition to statements by storekeepers and others who testified that they dealt with him at times. Some fifty or sixty leases executed by him upon the various vacant lots into which his land was divided, were introduced. These leases bore dates extending from 1905 to 1909. Ten of them appear to have been executed in 1909, nine of them in 1908, and others in prior years. The holders of a number of these leases were • introduced as witnesses to testify to the circumstances under which they procured them. Their testimony tended to show that Heinbach carried the numbers of his lots in his head, that he knew what he was doing when he leased the ground, and when he conducted other business matters mentioned in the testimony. It was shown that he refused to sell his land though often importuned to do so. It appeared that he knew his weakness and was afraid he would squander the proceeds of any such sale.. He refused to transact business when he was drunk and always would defer any [310]*310business matter which might he presented to him until a time when he would he sober. No business transaction was mentioned by any witness, so far as we could discover in the record, and none is pointed out to us by the appellants, in which the testator failed to understand the nature of the transaction. One of his physicians testified, and was corroborated by an expert or two, that he was suffering from alcoholic dementia which so impaired his mental powers that he was unable to know that he was making his will. This doctor’s testimony was to a certain extent discredited by witnesses who testified that the same doctor had stated on several occasions that Heinbach was sane. Another physician . testified that he was perfectly sane and capable of transacting the business under consideration. He had employed at time three different real estate agents to collect his rents and transact his other business. Whether this was on account of his knowledge of his inability to transact business or his desire to be free to get drunk when he wanted to or his general physical incapacity, is not fairly shown.

One of the witnesses to the will testified for the plaintiff. The other was not called. The scrivener who wrote the will testified for the defendants and his testimony tended to show a very clear understanding by the testator of what he wanted to do with his property and a perfect knowledge of those who had claims upon his bounty.

The verdict of the jury at the first trial was that the instrument under consideration was not Heinbach’s will. This court reversed the judgment on account of an erroneous instruction. On the last trial the verdict was the other way — to the effect that the instrument was his will; that judgment was appealed from and.is the matter before us here. .

I. Complaint' is made of the rulings of the trial court in excluding evidence tending to show undue influence, and in the giving of a peremptory instruction [311]*311to the jury withdrawing that issue from their consideration.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Heck v. Lafourche Parish Council
860 So. 2d 595 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2003)
Morse v. Volz
808 S.W.2d 424 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1991)
Hodges v. Hodges
692 S.W.2d 361 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1985)
Hoerschgen ex rel. Hoerschgen v. Dunnavant ex rel. Pool
546 S.W.2d 751 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1977)
Succession of Porche
273 So. 2d 665 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1973)
State v. Jones
462 S.W.2d 661 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1971)
Gilmore Ex Rel. Gilmore v. Union Construction Co.
439 S.W.2d 763 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1969)
Fullerton v. Sauer
337 F.2d 474 (Eighth Circuit, 1964)
Gillmore v. Atwell
283 S.W.2d 636 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1955)
Hoffman v. St. Louis Public Service Co.
255 S.W.2d 736 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1953)
Rothwell v. Love
241 S.W.2d 893 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1951)
Burkland v. Starry
234 S.W.2d 608 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1950)
Gardine v. Cottey
230 S.W.2d 731 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1950)
Renter v. Renter
29 N.W.2d 466 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1947)
Hennings v. Hallar
149 S.W.2d 338 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1941)
Palm v. Maguire
146 S.W.2d 636 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1941)
Lee v. Ullery
140 S.W.2d 5 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1940)
State Ex Rel. Randall v. Shain
108 S.W.2d 122 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1937)
Grisham v. Freewald
95 S.W.2d 349 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1936)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
202 S.W. 1123, 274 Mo. 301, 1918 Mo. LEXIS 21, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/heinbach-v-heinbach-mo-1918.