Lich v. Lich

138 S.W. 558, 158 Mo. App. 400, 1911 Mo. App. LEXIS 486
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 6, 1911
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 138 S.W. 558 (Lich v. Lich) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lich v. Lich, 138 S.W. 558, 158 Mo. App. 400, 1911 Mo. App. LEXIS 486 (Mo. Ct. App. 1911).

Opinion

REYNOLDS, P. J.

George Lich, Sr., died testate in St. Lonis, on the 2d of December, 1891, leaving surviving him four children, namely, Elizabeth, Charles, George, Jr., and Mary, the wife of one Eugene G. Weidner. His last will and testament, which was duly admitted to probate, after providing for the payment of his just debts and funeral expense's, is as follows:

“Second: I have four children, two sons and two daughters, namely, George Lich, Jr., Charles Lich, [408]*408Elizabeth Lich and Mary Weidner, the wife of Engene G. Weidner; — My daughter, Mary Weidner, has received twenty-five hundred dollars of me, which is to be treated as an advancement, and which sum is to be deducted from her share of my estate, as hereinafter provided.
“Third: I give, devise and.bequeath all my estate of whatever kind and wheresoever situate to my son, George Lich, Jr., and my daughter, Elizabeth Lich, absolutely and in fee. In trust, however, for the following purposes: To hold and manage the same, to invest the personalty and let and lease the realty and collect the income of both, with power to incur all expenses, that they may deem necessary and proper in the management and for preservation of the estate, and with the consent of the rest of my children to improve any part of the property, and they shall semiannually account for, and divide between themselves and my other children, the net income of all my property held under this trust, giving each of them one-fourth part thereof; provided always that my daughter, Mary Weidner, shall not participate in such income until each of my other children shall have received twenty-five hundred dollars from my estate. If so disposed, said trustees may charge reasonable compensation for their services in executing this trust and they shall incur no liability except for the faithful performance of this trust. This trust shall continue so long as any of my children are alive, and upon the death of the last survivor it shall cease, and the estate shall then be divided among the descendants of my said four children, said descendants taking per stirpes and not per capita. It is my wish and purpose that my estate shall be kept together so long as the trust herein created shall continue, but if any time it shall appear to my said trustees to be indispensably necessary and at the same time advantageous to the trust fund to sell any part of my real estate, [409]*409then said trustees are hereby empowered to sell the same provided that all of my remaining children, then living, shall consent thereto and join in the deed; and the proceeds of such sale or sales shall thereafter be held and managed by said trustees under this trust. All property that my daughters may receive under this will shall be for their sole and separate use, free from any marital rights of their husbands, if married.
“Fourth: I hereby nominate and appoint my son George Lich, Jr., and my daughter, Elizabeth Lich, executors of this will and request that they shall not be required to give any bond as such.
“For the aforesaid advancement of twenty-five hundred dollars to my daughter, Mary Weidner, I hold the note of her husband, Eugene G. Weidner, payable to my order. As soon as the other three children shall have each received twenty-five hundred dollars from the income of my estate as above provided,. the said. Mary Weidner, not having in^the meantime participated in such income, the note of said Eugene G. Weidner shall be deemed to have been paid by the said Mary Weidner and shall be returned tó her.”

Administration having been closed upon the estate, the trustees named took it over and were jointly executing the trust when one of them, George Lich, Jr., died. This trustee was also a son of the testator and one of the beneficiaries named in the will. He died on the 30th of June, 1908, leaving surviving him his widow, Mrs. Sophia Lich, and an only child, Angela M. Lich, a minor, here represented by her mother, who has been appointed her guardian. From the time of the death of George Lich, Jr., the trust has been in the survivor, Elizabeth Lich, a daughter of the testator. On the death of George Lich, Jr., it was claimed for his daughter Angela and her mother that they were entitled to a fourth interest in the net income of the estate before then going to the father and hus[410]*410band, and they demanded that it be paid over to them. The three surviving children of the testator denied this, claiming that on the death of George, Jr., these three surviving “children” of George Lich, Sr., were entitled to the whole of the interest in the net income of the estate. The trustee, Elizabeth, desiring to protect herself as surviving trustee, joined therein by her surviving brother and sister and also suing in her own right as a child- of George Lich, Sr., brought suit in the circuit court praying for an order,, judgment and decree of that court construing the third clause of the will, and for a decree adjudging the rights of plaintiffs'and defendant Angela in and to the net income of the trust estate and for instructions and directions to the trustee for. her future' guidance and for the protection of the interests of plaintiffs and of defendants. Angela, the minor daughter of George, Jr., answered by guardian. Her mother, Sophia, as the widow of George Lich, Jr., by leave of court, intervened and answered. Each of these plead that they are together entitled to the one-fourth interest in the net income of the estate, Mrs. Sophia Lich claiming that as widow she was entitled to a child’s part, that is one-half of the one-fourth. There was no controversy about the relations of the parties. The only evidence submitted to the circuit court, outside of the admissions of the pleadings and the character of the parties to the action, was the will itself, it not being controverted that the $2500, which had been charged as an advance against the share of Mrs. Mary Weid-ner, has long before been paid by her out of her share of the income of the trust estate, and that she is now entitled to participate in the income of the trust estate not yet and hereafter to be distributed, as fully as if no charge or deduction for advances had been made against her share. The clause being thus submitted, the court, finding the facts as above, and that Mrs. Sophia Lich, as widow of George, Jr., has no [411]*411interest in the trust property, further found that' the defendant, Angela M. Lich, as the daughter and only heir of George Lich, Jr., deceased, “is entitled to one-fourth of the net income of all the property held under the trust created by the terms of said last will, as aforesaid, from and after the death of said George Lich, Jr., deceased, and until the termination of said trust, at which time she shall and will be seized and possessed of and become the owner of the one-fourth interest in said trust property.” Whereupon it was “ordered, adjudged and decreed by the court that plaintiff Elizabeth Lich, as trustee, and each and every successor trustee or trustees under the will of George Lich, Sr., deceased, account to, and pay and turn over to the defendant Angela M. Lich, one-fourth of the net income arising from the trust property created by the terms of said last will of the said George Lich, deceased, said accounting and payments to be made semiannually; that the same he made to the lawful guardian of the said Angela M. Lich so long as the said Angela M.

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Bluebook (online)
138 S.W. 558, 158 Mo. App. 400, 1911 Mo. App. LEXIS 486, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lich-v-lich-moctapp-1911.