Livingston v. Freeland

3 Barb. Ch. 510, 1848 N.Y. LEXIS 218
New York Court of Chancery·Decided June 30, 1848·Published

Opinion

The Chancellor.

The objection that the master has not stated in his report all the property upon which the part of the annuity in question in this case is chargeable, by the decree, is one in which the appellant has no interest, if the master is right in supposing that the lands and premises now belonging to her are primarily liable for the payment of that part of the annuity. As I understand the .case, Herman Livingston has satisfied one-third of this eighth of the annuity; and has obtained a release from Mrs. Freeland for all the lands belonging to him at the time of the decree of November, 1844, upon which that eighth of the annuity was charged by that decree; except certain lands which he had conveyed to others previous to such release, and lot No. 1 of his share. Talbot’s affidavit also shows that he has paid another third of that eighth of the annuity, and has conveyed all the lands in this state which were included in the deed of July, 1843. The contest between the parties, therefore, is as to which property shall be charged with the remaining third of that eighth of the annuity. And if the lands which originally belonged to Mrs. A. Bogardus, under the will of her father, did not now belong to the same person [520] who owns the husband’s share of the property which was purchased from Henry Livingston the younger, or enough thereof to satisfy the whole of that portion of the annuity, there might be some difficulty in sustaining the master’s report.

The decree of the first of November, 1844, does not profess to designate the order in which the lands that, by such decree, were left subject to the lien of' the eighth part of the widow’s annuity thereon, as and for Henry’s share of such annuity, shall be charged. It is necessary, therefore, to inquire what were the equitable rights of the parties, at the time of the making of that decree. The share of Henry Livingston the younger originally was all primarily chargeable with this portion of the dower of his mother. But in the arrangement of July, 1843, he conveyed to Herman Livingston and to his two brothers-in-law, Bogardus and Talbot, all the lands specifically devised to him, except the homestead and Monell farms, and they gave back to him a mortgage for $7000 upon the Ancram iron works and 70 acres'of the Ancram farm around such' works. And it appears by the recitals in the decree, that the grantees in that conveyance covenanted to indemnify the grantor against the debts, and to perform all the obligations imposed upon him by reason of his being named as a devisee of a specific portion of his father’s estate. This of course included an obligation to discharge him, and the two' farms which were left to him, of the annuity which by a previous decree had, been charged upon him and his estate. It is true, the charge of the mother upon his two farms was not released by this arrangement; but that part of his share of the devised estate which was granted to "his brother and his two brothers-in-law became, in equity, primarily chargeable with the payment of his share of the annuity. And as between the Ancram iron works and the 70 acres of the Ancram-farm which they mortgaged to him at the time of his conveyance to them, and the residue of the lands granted to them, such residue was equitably chargeable with the whole óf his share of the annuity ; as the primary fund for the payment tLiereof.

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Livingston v. Freeland, 3 Barb. Ch. 510, 1848 N.Y. LEXIS 218 (N.Y. 1848).

3 Barb. Ch. 510 (Livingston v. Freeland) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.