In Re Estate of Morrison

371 P.2d 171, 189 Kan. 704, 1962 Kan. LEXIS 333
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedMay 5, 1962
Docket42,745
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 371 P.2d 171 (In Re Estate of Morrison) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Estate of Morrison, 371 P.2d 171, 189 Kan. 704, 1962 Kan. LEXIS 333 (kan 1962).

Opinions

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Price, J.:

Clarence W. (C. W.) Morrison and Daisy M. Morrison were huband and wife. Each had grown children by a former marriage.

Clarence died testate in November, 1958. His will was admitted to probate. His son, the appellant here, was named and qualified as executor.

Daisy died intestate in May, 1960. Her son, the appellee here, was appointed administrator of her estate.

Unless otherwise indicated, Mr. and Mrs. Morrison will be referred to as Clarence and Daisy.

This appeal is an outgrowth of a dispute between the two estates concerning property rights.

Although variously stated by the parties in their briefs, there appear to be only three matters actually in controversy.

The first concerns the ownership and disposition of a joint bank account which was in the names of “C. W. Morrison or Daisy Morrison.”

After hearing evidence concerning the opening of the account, the making of deposits therein, and other matters in connection therewith, the trial court concluded that Clarence and Daisy owned the account as tenants in common and adjusted the rights to the balance therein as of the date of Clarence’s death accordingly.

From our review of the record we are of the opinion the trial court was correct in so holding.

The second question concerns the right of Daisy, as surviving spouse, to the statutory allowances following the death of Clarence.

As stated, Clarence died testate. Omitting formal parts, his will reads:

“Item Two.
“I give, bequeath and devise to my wife, Daisy M. Morrison, the following described real estate in Butler County, Kansas, to-wit:
“Lot Eighteen (18) in Block Eleven (11) in the original town of Potwin, to be hers absolutely. The above described Lot adjoins our home in Potwin on Lot Seventeen (17), said home being the property of my said wife, Daisy [706]*706M. Morrison, and I suggest that if she is the owner of said property at the time of her death, that the same be sold by her heirs or the persons entitled thereto and the proceeds divided among said owners, rather than attempting to rent said property.
“Item Three.
“All the rest, residue and remainder of my property, both real, personal and mixed, and wherever situated, I give, bequeath and devise the income therefrom to my said wife, Daisy M. Morrison, for the term of her natural life. She to have all the rents, income and profit from any real estate I may own and the income from any personal property. Upon the death of the said Daisy M. Morrison, I give, bequeath and devise said property to my children, Clarence W. Morrison, Jr. and Glenna Mae Wernli, in equal shares, to be theirs absolutely.”

Daisy’s written consent to the will reads:

“I, Daisy M. Morrison, have read the within Will of Clarence W. Morrison, my husband, and understanding the contents thereof and my rights thereunder and my rights under the laws of descent and distribution of the State of Kansas, hereby consent to the execution of said Will by the said Clarence W. Morrison and elect to take under said Last Will and Testament and accept the benefits thereof.”

The executor of the will contended that by the language of her written consent Daisy waived her rights to statutory allowances and agreed to accept the devise and bequest in lieu of such rights.

The trial court held otherwise.

G. S. 1949, 59-403, so far as here material, reads:

“When a resident of the state dies, testate or intestate, the surviving spouse shall be allowed, for the benefit of such spouse . . . from the personal property of which the decedent was possessed or to which he was entitled at the time of death, the following: . . . (2) The sum of seven hundred fifty dollars, or other personal property at its appraised value in full or part payment thereof. . . .”

G. S. 1949, 59-404, reads:

“The surviving spouse, by electing to take under the will of the decedent or by consenting thereto, does not waive the homestead right nor the right to such allowance, unless it clearly appears from the will that the provision therein made for such spouse was intended to be in lieu of such rights.” (Our emphasis. )

By the provisions of this will Daisy was devised certain described real estate, absolutely, and was bequeathed during her lifetime the income from all other property owned by Clarence. Her consent stated that she understood the contents of the will, her rights thereunder, and her rights under the laws of descent and distribution. We find nothing in the language of the will or the consent which [707]*707makes it clearly appear that the provisions made for Daisy were intended to be in lieu of her rights to statutory allowances. The facts and language here involved are readily distinguishable from those in In re Estate of Snyder, 187 Kan. 373, 357 P. 2d 778. See also the several cases cited in that opinion and the case of In re Estate of Hilliard, 172 Kan. 552, 555, 556, 241 P. 2d 729, for a discussion of the question.

The trial court was correct in holding that Daisy was entitled to the statutory allowances in addition to the benefits under the will.

The other matter in controversy concerns the ownership, upon the death of Clarence, of a certain trust certificate.

On February 11, 1949, Clarence executed the following document:

“Application Account No. 171972
“I, the undersigned, hereby make application in the amount of $1,000.00 tendered herewith for shares of Capital Stock of Investors Mutual Inc. at the public offering price of such shares determined in the manner described in the Prospectus.
“A certificate for such shares shall be issued as directed below:
“Individual
“(1) Mr. C. W. Morrison...............................Age 64
as Trustee for
“(2) Daisy M. Morrison..........................Age 62
“All communications from the Company shall be sent to the person in (1) above at the following address:
“Potwin, Butler County, Kansas
“Signed at Potwin, Kansas, this 11th day of February, 1949.
C. W. Morrison,
Signature of Applicant
Lawrence J. Collier,
Signature of bonded representative of Investors Syndicate, Distributor.
“Declaration of Trust — Revocable.
No. 171972
“I, the undersigned, having purchased or declared my intention to purchase certain shares of capital stock of Investors Mutual Inc. (the Company), and having directed that the certificate for said stock be issued in my name as trustee for Mrs. Daisy M.

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261 F. Supp. 1002 (D. Kansas, 1965)
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388 P.2d 1 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1964)
In Re Estate of Morrison
371 P.2d 171 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1962)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
371 P.2d 171, 189 Kan. 704, 1962 Kan. LEXIS 333, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-estate-of-morrison-kan-1962.