In Re Scheyer's Estate

59 N.W.2d 33, 336 Mich. 645
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedJune 8, 1953
DocketDocket 51, Calendar 45,694
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 59 N.W.2d 33 (In Re Scheyer's Estate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Scheyer's Estate, 59 N.W.2d 33, 336 Mich. 645 (Mich. 1953).

Opinion

Adams, J.

This is an appeal from a decision of the circuit court of Leelanau county construing certain provisions of the last will and testament of Marion Roberts Scheyer, deceased.

The deceased, Marion Roberts Scheyer, was married to Walter Rudolph Scheyer in Switzerland during the year 1930. She had 2 sons by a previous marriage, James Robert McCord, Jr., and Walter Roberts McCord, appellants herein. Gn November 3,1933, while still in Switzerland, she executed a will. In paragraph 5 of that will she referred to a marriage settlement of October 3,1930, executed between herself and her husband, Walter Rudolph Scheyer, and then said that it had been subsequently:

*647 “Agreed between -us that he shall bo entitled upon my death and for the period of his lifetime and so long as he shall remain unmarried, to the use and enjoyment of any home owned by me and occupied as a home by us at the time of my death.”

Following reference to the marriage settlement and the subsequent agreement, the will continued:

“I hereby give, devise and bequeath to my husband, Walter Rudolph Scheyer, for the period of his lifetime and so long as he shall remain unmarried, the use of the following properties:
“(a) Any home belonging to me in which we are residing at the time of my death.”

Some years later the Scheyers came to the United States and in 1939 Mrs. Scheyer purchased a home in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1941 she purchased a summer lióme on the east shore of Lake Leelanau in Leelanau county, Michigan. In 1942 the cottage was remodeled and beginning in that year Mrs. Scheyer spent, her summers at Lake Leelanau through the year 1948.

Mr. Scheyer was employed in Miami in 1942 and in Puerto Rico in 1943, 1944 and 1945. In 1946 he accepted employment in Atlanta and worked there through the year 1949. Because of his employment he was unable to make more than a brief visit to the Lake Leelanau cottage in 1943 and did not spend any time there in the years 1944 or 1945. In 1946, during the interim period between his Puerta Rican employment and his later-acquired work in Atlanta, he spent'3 months in Michigan. In 1947 and 1948 he visited the cottage for brief periods not exceeding a total of 4 weeks in each year.

Late in the summer of 1948, Mrs. Scheyer became ill and in the early fall Mr. Scheyer came to Michigan and together they drove back to Atlanta. There *648 after she spent several months in hospitals near Atlanta and died on July 8, 1949.

Her estate was probated in Atlanta, Georgia, with ancillary probate in Leelanau county. Mr. Scheyer occupied the home in Atlanta for some months and still has the use and benefit of the property although it is actually occupied by his tenants.

On July 3, 1950, Mr. Scheyer petitioned the probate court of Leelanau county for construction of the will of his deceased wife. In his petition he referred to that portion of the will above quoted and requested a construction of the will which would give to him the use of both the home in Atlanta, Georgia, and the cottage on Lake Leelanau during the term of his natural life or for so long as he remained unmarried. Upon hearing, the probate court determined that he was - entitled only to the use of the home in Atlanta, Georgia, and from that decision an appeal was taken to the circuit court.

The circuit court reversed the decision of the probate court and found that, under the provisions of the will, the husband was entitled to the use of both the dwelling in Atlanta and the summer cottage in Michigan. From that decision the 2 sons of the deceased take this appeal.

In construing the provisions of a will, the primary consideration is to determine, if possible, the intent of the maker. Such intention may be found in the words of the instrument or from a consideration of the instrument as a whole and, on occasion, from the circumstances surrounding the execution of the will as well as the relationship of the maker to the several objects of his or her bounty.

“The'primary rule of construction, is to. ascertain the true intention of the testator. - That ■ intention must be ascertained from a consideration of all the provisions of the will itself and in the light of the circumstances surrounding the testator at the time *649 the will was made and his relations with the several objects of his bounty. Having so ascertained his intention, it is the duty of the court to give that intention effect if that be legally .possible.” Kirsher v. Todd, 195 Mich 297, as quoted with approval in Re Miner’s Estate, 201 Mich 115, 120.

Here the circumstances existent at the time of the execution of the will are of little assistance. At that time the testatrix lived in Switzerland and, insofar as the record discloses, was not the owner of any dwelling which might be called a home. She could not therefore have had reference to any specific property when the bequest was made. Insofar as her relationship with her 2 sons and husband is concerned, they being the natural objects of her bounty, she made reasonable bequests for the benefit of each of them and there does not appear within the provisions of the will itself any intention to prefer one over the other. The 2 sons, being minors and less able to care for their needs than the husband, were given a greater share of the property, but from that fact we gather no inference as to the extent of the property to be left to each other than as it appears in the wording of the will.

Looking then to the words to be construed, the subject matter of the bequest is described as (1) the use of (2) any home (3) belonging to me (4) in which we are residing at the time of my death. No dispute exists as between the parties over the construction or meaning of the “use” of the property or of the words “belonging to me.” We are therefore concerned only with the need to determine what the testatrix nleant by “any home * * * in which we are residing at the time of my death.”

The word “any” has been defined in many ways and an attempt to give it a precise meaning in this instance might well do violence to the testatrix’s intention. Rather, we believe it should be construed in *650 context with the other words used in the bequest as is suggested in the definition of the term “any” found in 3 CJS, p 1398:

“Like all other general words, the meaning of ‘any’ is largely controlled and often restrained and limited by the context or subject matter, for it is a word that may have one of several meanings, according to the subject which it qualifies. It has been referred to as an indefinite adjective pronoun, or pronominal adjective, used to designate objects in a general way, without pointing out any one in particular. It is not used to describe the qualities or character of objects; and usually it excludes any idea of selection or distinction, implying unlimited choice as to the particular unit, number, or quantity although it has been said also that in particular connections, the word ‘any’ may imply the selection of one out of several or many.

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Bluebook (online)
59 N.W.2d 33, 336 Mich. 645, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-scheyers-estate-mich-1953.