Klein v. Klein

29 N.W.2d 163, 239 Iowa 40, 1947 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 428
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedOctober 14, 1947
DocketNo. 46997.
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 29 N.W.2d 163 (Klein v. Klein) 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
Klein v. Klein, 29 N.W.2d 163, 239 Iowa 40, 1947 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 428 (iowa 1947).

Opinion

MaNtz, J.

This is an aetion to quiet title, brought by Mary Klein against the defendants, who are all the living children of Mary Klein and children of a deceased daughter of Mary Klein, Josephine Book. The plaintiff claimed to be the absolute and unqualified owner of the real estate in question, claiming title under a warranty deed from her husband, John Klein, dated February 5, 1945, and which the said Mary Klein claimed to have been delivered to her upon the date of its execution and remained in her possession and under her control until March 16,1945, the day following the death of her husband, John Klein, upon which date she had the same recorded in the office of the county recorder.

*42 The only defendants answering were A. J. Klein, also known as Tony Klein, Melvin Book, and Peter Fromm, as guardian of the property of the children of a deceased daughter, Josephine Book, which answers were identical in form. The other children, defendants herein, make no élaim to the property involved as against the claim of plaintiff, their mother. These answers specifically deny the allegations of plaintiff’s petition, and further allege that the defendants are heirs at law of John Klein, who died intestate on March 15,1945, and who at the time of his death was the owner of the real estate in question. In substance, said answers allege that prior to his death said John Klein executed .an instrument in the form of a deed, and other instruments relating to his property and estate, the exact character and nature of which are unknown to the defendants; that the instruments so executed were never delivered and were not intended to convey a present interest in decedent’s property but were executed for a testamentary purpose and ineffective for such purpose; also, that they were secured by undue influence of the plaintiff and other members of the household and therefore void; that by continuing to live in the homestead of decedent and reside thereon she has thereby elected, as his surviving spouse, to use and occupy the homestead for life. The plaintiff by reply denied the affirmative allegations of said answers.

The court held for the plaintiff and entered a decree quieting her title to the real estate. All answering defendants appealed.

After the submission of the case Mary Klein died and her representative has been substituted as appellee herein.

I. Before taking up the various issues and points raised in this appeal, we think it' will be helpful to set out various facts and circumstances appearing in the record.

John Klein and Mary Klein had been married for over forty-five years and had at all times lived on a farm in Shelby County, Iowa. John Klein died March 15, 1945. Mary Klein was sixty-nine years old in 1946. Her husband was some years older. They had nine children, eight of whom, adults, were living at that time. One daughter, Josephine Book, died before John Klein and left nine children surviving her, one of whom, *43 Melvin Book, is an adult, and tlie others are minors, all represented by their guardian, Peter Fromm.

In the fall of 1944 John Klein owned approximately a section of land located in Shelby County, Iowa. Of this tract one farm of two hundred fourteen acres was located about one-half mile from the farm home of John and Mary and it had been occupied by the oldest son, Tony, as a tenant, for nineteen years. In the fall of 1944 John Klein desired to sell the two-hundred-fourteen-acre farm and offered to sell the same to Tony. The latter stated that he did not care to buy. Shortly thereafter, and on October 2, 1944, John Klein sold the two hundred fourteen acres to his son John M. Klein, then thirty years old, who was unmarried and lived at home. Another son, Fred Klein, aged twenty-seven, also unmarried, lived at home. In March 1945 Tony had to move from this farm.

The rest of the land belonging to John Klein was something over four hundred acres and is the land in controversy.

The record shows that John Klein was a good manager, was thrifty, and accumulated considerable property. He gave help and aid to his children when they started out for themselves. Aside from his relations with Tony, he was on the best of terms with his children. He and Tony for the most part got along fairly well. Tony drank a lot and his method of farming and treatment of his stock did not suit his father. Tony resented his father’s criticism of his farming. Matters got worse after the two hundred fourteen acres were sold. Tony resented its being sold to John, claiming that by selling it to him John was being favored. Following that sale, Tony and his parents, especially his father, did not get along agreeably together. The record shows that up until a short time before John Klein died Tony quarreled with him, abused him, called him insane, and also called him obscene names. Such upset and depressed the father and mother and they told some of the children of Tony’s conduct and how it hurt them.

During the last years of his life John Klein’s health began to fail. He took medical treatment in a hospital at Rochester, Minnesota; also at Omaha, Nebraska; but his physical condition became progressively worse and he died on March 15, 1945.

*44 The record shows that be was a man of strong will and carried on bis business and made bis own decisions up until a few days before bis death. The record shows that while his son John performed some business matters for him they were always pursuant to his father’s instructions.

Before he died John Klein made at least two wills in which he made disposition of his property. The first one, made in the spring of 1944, he later destroyed. In November 1944 he had a will prepared but this was never executed.

Early in February 1945 John Klein went to the office of E. A. Howe, a loan agent for the Harlan Production Credit Association, at Harlan, Iowa. His son John took him to Harlan. He was there three times. On February 5,1945, John Klein went alone to Howe’s office and while there instructed the latter to make a deed to his wife, Mary Klein, conveying to her the land in controversy. It was prepared by Howe, Klein signed, and Howe notarized it. He also had Howe prepare a bill of sale, wherein he transferred to Mary Klein all of his personal property then owned or to be possessed during his natural life. This was signed by Klein and notarized by Howe. . The bill of sale contained the following provision:

“John Klein sells to Mary Klein personal property ‘now in the possession of myself’ described as follows: All personal property of every kind including moneys and credits, bonds and other evidences of cash that I now possess or may become possessed of during my natural life.”

Howe placed said instruments in an envelope and gave them to Klein, who took them home with him. The record shows that on the day following the making of the deed and bill of sale John Klein and Mary Klein went to Howe’s office. There Mary Klein told Howe that she now owned the property involved and that she wanted him to make out some papers for her. At her direc-. tion he made out a deed to the real estate to her children, except Tony Klein and the Book children. She also had him make out a bill of sale to the same parties conveying to them her personal property.

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Bluebook (online)
29 N.W.2d 163, 239 Iowa 40, 1947 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 428, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/klein-v-klein-iowa-1947.