In re Will of Miller

34 N.W. 769, 73 Iowa 118
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedOctober 25, 1887
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 34 N.W. 769 (In re Will of Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Will of Miller, 34 N.W. 769, 73 Iowa 118 (iowa 1887).

Opinions

Beok, J".

The will of James Miller, and a codicil thereto, were admitted to probate by the circuit court. The material portions of these instruments are in the following languaget

“ WILL.

“(3) 1 have given to my several children the several sums hereinafter named, over and above the amounts for which I hold note or notes, mortgage or mortgages, of either of them, viz: My son Marvin Miller has received the sum of $1,855; my son Andrew Miller has received the sum of $2,029; my son Madison Miller has received the sum of $3,000; my daughter Eliza Jane Wheeler has received the sum of $1,000; my daughter Ellen Case has received the sum of $1,000. I also hold notes and mortgages against some of my children which are not for any part of the above-named sums; which said notes and mortgages are to be treated, as to both principal and interest, as constituting a part of my estate. It is my will, and I so direct, that my estate be so divided at my death that each of my several children shall receive from me and my estate equal shares, including the sums above men tinned, and interest on said sums, respectively, from and after the 19th of January, 1.869. That is to say, my executor shall charge my son Marvin, $1,855, and interest from January 19, 1869; my son Andrew, $2,029, and interest from January 19, 1869; my son Madison $3,000, and interest from [120]*120January 19, 1869; my daughter Eliza Jane Wheeler, $1,000, and interest from January 19, 1869; my daughter Ellen Case, $1,000, and interest from January, 19, 1869, and distribute my estate among my said children so that their shares with the several sums produced thereby shall be equal.”

“ CODICIL.

“ Know ye, that I, James Miller, of the city of Davenport, Scott county, Iowa, formerly of Pleasant Talley of said county, being of sound min'd and disposing memory,'and desiring to modify and change my last will and testaihent made at Tpsilanti, Michigan, on the 24th day of February, 1872, do hereby make and publish this codicil as and for a part of my last will and testament, as follows: I hereby revoke the second item in my said last will' and testament, wherein I give and bequeath to my wife, Elizabeth Miller, $2,000, to be accepted by her in lieu of all dower and other claims, and instead thereof I now give, bequeath and devise unto my wife, Elizabeth Miller, my homestead in city of Davenport, Scott county, Iowa, to be accepted and taken by' her in lieu of all other claims. Since the making of my last will and testament, I have given to my said daughter, Eliza Jane Wheeler, the further sum of $500, making, with the former sum of $1,000, the sum of $i,500, which I have given her. And instead of $1,000, as stated in my last will and testament, my executor shall charge my said daughter, Eliza Jane Wheeler, with the sum of $1,500, and interest thereon since January 19, 1869.”

A daughter of the testator, Mrs. Case, executed to him in his life-time a mortgage, to secure an annuity of $84 per annum, in consideration of $1,200 paid and advanced by him. No. question arises in this case upon this instrument, and the transactions upon which' it is based. It will not, therefore, be further noticed.

Another daughter, Mrs. Wheeler, executed, after the will and codicil were made, to the testator, a somewhat similar [121]*121instrument, in form of a deed of trust, conveying certain lands situated in Michigan. It recites that the consideration thereof is $1,040, received by the grantee therein of her father, the testator, and provides that the estate granted shall be void upon payment on a named day of each year of the sum of $72.80, which it declares is the interest upon $1,040, at 7 per centum per annum. The instrument then recites a condition in the following language: “ And it is hereby expressly agreed by and between the said parties that, should any default be made in the payment of the said interest, or of any part thereof, (or of any installment of principal, or of any part thereof,) on any day whereon the same is made payable as above expressed, and should the' same remain unpaid and in arrear for the space of sixty days, then and from thenceforth, that is to say, after the lapse of said sixty days, so much of the aforesaid principal sum of one thous- and and forty dollars as remains unpaid, with all arrearage of interest thereon, shall, at the option of said party of the second part, his executors, administrators, or assigns, become and be due and payable immediately thereafter, although the period above limited for the payment thereof may not then have expired; anything hereinbefore, or in said note, contained to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding.”

Mrs. Wheeler executed to the testator a promissory note, which is secured by, and referred to in, the deed of trust. It is as follows:

“ $1,040.

“ For value received I promise to pay James Miller, or bearer, during the life-time of said Miller, the sum of seventy-two dollars and eighty cents annually, on the 19th day of November, in each year, being annual interest at the rate of seven per cent per annum' upon a principal sum of $1,040. At the death of said Miller this note is fully paid and discharged by reason thereof, according to the terms of a mortgage of even date.

“ Eliza Jane Wheeler.

[122]*122“Dated Yfisilanti, Mich., November 19, 1879.”

Other conditions as to payment of taxes, the insurance, of buildings on the land, and other matters, need not be recited or further referred to, nor need mention be made of certain written evidence of advancements made by the testator prior to his death, and subsequent to the execution of the will and codicil. The widow, by proper writing filed in court, refused to take under the will, and gave notice of her election to take her distributive share. The abstract contains the following statement showing the question for decision in the case: “No testimony was offered on behalf of the widow, but it was admitted by all parties that advancements had been made to the children, though the amount was not admitted; it being agreed that the case should be submitted upon the question of the right of the widow to derive benefit from advancements made to the children, leaving the amount of said advancements to be determined upon evidence to be submitted to the court thereafter.”

ESTATES Of decedents: advancemema: how share. Two questions only arise in the case — the first involving the right of the widow in view of all the advancements made to the legatees; the second brings in question her rights in connection with the transaction with a the deed of trust executed by Mrs. Wheeler.

Code, § 2436, is in the following language: “The personal property of the deceased, not necessary for the payment of debts, nor otherwise disposed of as hereinbefore provided, ■ shall be distributed to the same persons, and in the same proportions, as though it were real estate.” The term “ personal property,” used in this section, is understood to cover things personal, choses in action, and all other property or property rights not real estate, or attached to and inseparable from real estate. The expression in the section referring to such property as not “ otherwise disposed of as hereinbefore provided,” applies to legacies, specific and general, and to assets of the estate used in paying debts and expenses. All the personal estate of the deceased [123]*123not thus disposed of is to be distributed to the widow and heirs, as provided in succeeding sections.

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Bluebook (online)
34 N.W. 769, 73 Iowa 118, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-will-of-miller-iowa-1887.