Leyden v. Bentley

238 So. 2d 342, 286 Ala. 174, 1970 Ala. LEXIS 885
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedJuly 30, 1970
Docket5 Div. 895
StatusPublished

This text of 238 So. 2d 342 (Leyden v. Bentley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Leyden v. Bentley, 238 So. 2d 342, 286 Ala. 174, 1970 Ala. LEXIS 885 (Ala. 1970).

Opinion

LAWSON, Justice.

Mary Della Latham, who was never married, died testate on June 20, 1968. Her will was duly admitted to probate and record in the office of the Judge of Probate of Chilton County on October 9, 1968, on which date Mary Upchurch Bentley, a niece of Miss Latham, was appointed executrix of the estate of Miss Latham. The administration of said estate was removed to the Circuit Court of Chilton County, in Equity, ,on March 24, 1969.

On its face the will of Miss Latham is the essence of simplicity. It reads:

“LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
“STATE OF ALABAMA CHILTON COUNTY.
■ “I, Mary Della ■ Latham, a resident citizen of Chilton County, Alabama, and being over the age of twenty-one years, and being of sound mind and disposing memory, do hereby make, publish and declare this to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills, which may have been made or executed at any time heretofore by me,
“1st. I will that all my just debts, expenses of my last sickness and funeral expenses shall be paid by my hereinafter named executors as soon after by death as practicable.
“2nd. I will, devise and bequeath unto- my niece, Mary Upchurch Bentley and to my nephew, Dr. Samuel Earl Upchurch, share and share alike all of the personal property I may own at the time of my death. This shall include all money that I may have deposited in banks, all stocks and bonds of whatever nature, description or denomination, and all other personal property that I may own at the time of my death, whether particularly described herein or not.
“3rd. I nominate and appoint my niece, Mary Upchurch Bentley, and my nephew, Dr. Samuel. Earl Upchurch, as executors of this my last will and testament, and do declare that they nor either of them shall be required to make or execute any bond for the performance of their duties arising hereunder nor shall they or either of them be required to make any inventory to any Court or any one else of the property coming into their hands as such executors, nor make any report to any Court or any one else of their proceedings hereunder, this being their authority to act in all matters pertaining to my estate, and in the event that either of my said named executors shall die before I do, then in that event, I nominate the survivor as my said executor under this my last will and testament. * * * ”

But Dr. Upchurch, one of the legatees under the will, died on June 5, 1968, á few days before the death of the testatrix, and his untimely death has been to a large degree the cause of this litigation. Dr. Upchurch not being a descendant of testatrix (§ 16, Title 61, Code 1940), the legacy to him lapsed and as to the interest [177]*177which he would have taken if he had survived testatrix, the testatrix died intestate. Kimbrough v. Dickinson, 247 Ala. 324, 24 So.2d 424; Morgan County Nat. Bank of Decantar v. Nelson, 244 Ala. 374, 13 So.2d 765.

Numerous claims were filed against the estate of Miss Latham, including several substantial claims by the executrix, Mary Upchurch Bentley, and by the executors of the estate of Dr. Upchurch. Some heirs of Miss Latham contested certain of the claims filed by Mary Upchurch Bentley and the executors of the estate of Dr. Up-church.

Following a hearing at which the testimony was taken ore tenus and many exhibits were introduced, the trial court rendered a decree wherein the joint claim of Mary Upchurch Bentley and the executors of Dr. Upchurch’s estate was allowed in the sum of $8,906.78, which sum includes interest.

The trial court further decreed, in part:

“3. That an undivided one-half interest in and to the estate be set apart to the beneficiary and legatee, Mary Up-church Bentley, according to the terms of the will; that the remaining undivided one-half interest of said estate be set apart for the payment of the claims and of the debts of the estate, cost of administration, taxes and all other indebtedness of said estate.
“4. That the names of the distributees of Mary Della Latham and the interest of each of said distributees in and to that portion of her estate, being a one-half part, to which she died intestate, are as follows: * * *
“5. That the one-half undivided interest of the property of the testatrix that was intestate to be distributed on final settlement among the distributees herein named in the proportions indicated, after the payment of claims and debts of the estate and the cost of administration.
“6. That in the event the intestate property, as herein ascertained, is not sufficient to pay the debts and claims of the estate and cost and fees of administration, then the deficiency shall be supplied from the one-half undivided interest set apart to the legatee, Mary Up-church Bentley.”

From that decree an appeal was taken to this court by the heirs of Mary Della Latham, deceased, who contested the claims filed by Mary Upchurch Bentley and the executors of the estate of Dr. Upchurch.

Appellants contend that the trial court erred in allowing the claims filed by Mary Upchurch Bentley and the executors of the estate of Dr. Upchurch, some of which claims appellants assert in brief were barred by the statute of limitation of three years.

We cannot review that contention. Submission here was on the record proper. In other words, the transcript of the record does not contain a transcription of any of the testimony which was taken orally before the trial court or any of the exhibits which were before the trial court. Under our cases, we must presume that the omitted evidence justified the adjudication of the trial court on the various issues of fact presented. Park v. Elliott, 282 Ala. 110, 209 So.2d 393; Mason v. Mason, 276 Ala. 265, 160 So.2d 881; Nunn v. Nunn, 276 Ala. 621, 165 So.2d 704. Argument in brief reciting matters not disclosed by the record cannot be considered on appeal. Coleman v. Estes, 281 Ala. 234, 201 So.2d 391.

The appellants argue in brief assignments of error which “go to the point that the Court committed error in construing the will to be a specific devise to Mary Upchurch Bentley and thereby excluded her part from the payment of debts, and ordered in said decree that the part bequeathed to Dr. Samuel Upchurch, which it was agreed lapsed because of his death before the testator (sic), be charged with all of the debts of the estate and the costs of administration.”

[178]*178There is a great deal of discussion in the briefs, particularly that filed on behalf of appellants, as to the character of the legacies; that is, whether they are general or specific. In our opinion, however, it makes no difference in the solution of the issue before us because of the rule stated in 4 Page on Wills, Lifetime Edition, § 1496, p. 323: “If there is no residuary clause, property not disposed of by will is first applied to debts and the like.” Temple v. First Nat. Bank of Meridian, 202 Miss. 92, 30 So.2d 605; Hammond v. Bibb, 234 Ala. 192, 174 So. 634.

The lapse of the legacy to Dr. Upchurch caused the share of testatrix’ property intended for him to bcome intestate property, in effect a residuary estate.

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Related

Coleman v. Estes
201 So. 2d 391 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1967)
Park v. Elliott
209 So. 2d 393 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1968)
Mason v. Mason
160 So. 2d 881 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1964)
Kimbrough v. Dickinson
24 So. 2d 424 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1946)
Morgan County Nat. Bank of Decatur v. Nelson
13 So. 2d 765 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1943)
Hammond v. Bibb
174 So. 634 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1937)
Temple v. First Nat. Bank of Meridian
30 So. 2d 605 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1947)
Nunn v. Nunn
165 So. 2d 704 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1964)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
238 So. 2d 342, 286 Ala. 174, 1970 Ala. LEXIS 885, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leyden-v-bentley-ala-1970.