McLane v. Chancey, Administrator

200 S.W.2d 782, 211 Ark. 280, 1947 Ark. LEXIS 528
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMarch 17, 1947
Docket4-8090, 4-8091 (consolidated)
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 200 S.W.2d 782 (McLane v. Chancey, Administrator) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McLane v. Chancey, Administrator, 200 S.W.2d 782, 211 Ark. 280, 1947 Ark. LEXIS 528 (Ark. 1947).

Opinion

Holt, J.

Two causes of action, consolidated here, are presented on this appeal from separate judgments in the Franklin Probate Court, Ozark District, construing the separate wills of William C. Bill, deceased, and Ada May Bill, deceased, who were husband and wife. Mr. Bill died May 20,1945, and Mrs. Bill, his widow, died May 22, 1945. Each was approximately 70 years of age at the time of death and had resided in Ozark approximately 50 years. No issue survived.

Their separate wills were, in effect, almost identical, that of Mrs. Bill having been executed May 30, 1940, and that of Mr. Bill, December 8,1942.

That part of Ada May Bill’s will, material here, is as follows: “To Bertie Walker McLane, I give, devise, and bequeath my home place together with -all the personal property therein, located on lots 7, 8, 9 and 10, all in block 16, in the Town of Ozark, Arkansas.

“Then after all expenses.are paid, if anything remains, real estate, personal property, or mixed, money or any other valuable assets, shall be gathered together by a trustee, selected by the parties interested and named in this will and approved by the court having jurisdiction and shall be equally divided between the following persons and institutions: The First Methodist Church of Ozark, Arkansas. Mrs. Louella Bice. Mrs. Bessie Hail Travis.”

That part of William C. Bill’s will, material here, is identical with the above provisions of Mrs. Bill’s will except that the word * ‘ place ’ ’ after the words ‘ ‘ my home ’ ’ is omitted in his will so that it reads “my home, together,” etc.

The appellant, Bertie Walker McLane, is in no way related to either Mr. or Mrs. Bill. ,

When appellant, Bertie Walker McLane, took charge of the home given to her under both wills, following the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Bill, she found in a lock box in the home six Postal Savings Certificates in the aggregate amount of $1,800 and an insurance policy in the amount of $2,000 on the life of William C. Bill. There was in the garage on the place a Chevrolet automobile. There was also discovered a contract of sale for a portion of the home place, “part of lot 6 and all of lots 7 and 8, block 16, Town of Ozark, Arkansas,” that had been entered into during the life of William C. Bill with Ernest Moore and Lou 01-lie Moore, and their note in the amount of $700 given for the purchase price of this property.

J. P. Chancey, administrator of Mrs. BilPs estate, filed petition, with her will annexed, in the probate court for directions as to disposition of the proceeds from the life insurance policy on the life of William C. Bill, payable to his wife, Ada May Bill, “if she should survive him, otherwise to insured’s administrator.” He alleged that, appellant, Mrs. McLane, was claiming all the proceeds from this policy, and each of the residuary legatees, the church, Mrs. Travis and Mrs. Rice, who had been made parties, were each claiming a third interest in the proceeds from said policy.

Following a trial, the probate court found that the proceeds from this policy of insurance should be divided equally among the three residuary legatees, the First Methodist Church of Ozark, Mrs. Katherine Hail Travis and Mrs. Louella Rice, share and share alike. From the judgment of the court, Mrs. McLane has appealed.

On the same date that the administrator filed the petition, supra, in the Ada May Bill’s estate, he also filed a separate petition in the William C. Bill’s estate for instructions and directions from the probate court, (1) to whom he should pay the proceeds from the Postal Savings Certificates, (2) who was entitled to the automobile found in the garage, and (3) who was entitled to the $700 promissory note.

It appears that in 1939, Mr. Bill opened a Postal Savings account with the Post Office in Ozark and at the time of his death, as above indicated, six certificates evidencing this account in the Post Office were found in the home.

All of this property was claimed by appellant, Mrs. McLane, under the will, supra. The three residuary legatees were made parties to this action also.

Upon a trial of this cause, the probate court found that the proceeds from the Postal Savings Certificates should be divided equally among the three residuary legatees, the church, Mrs. Rice and Mrs. Travis, one-third to each, but that appellant should have the automobile and the $700 note.

From this judgment, Mrs. McLane has appealed. The appellees, the three residuary legatees, have cross-appealed from that part of the judgment awarding the car and note to appellant.

In short, it is the contention of Mrs. McLane here that under the terms of the wills, supra, since she was given the “home place, together with all the personal property therein,” this provision carried with it not only the home, but that “personal property” included the proceeds from the insurance policy, the Postal Savings Certificates, the automobile and the promissory note. She was, as above noted, awarded the automobile and the note, but denied any interest in the insurance policy and the Postal Savings Certificates.

Was the term “personal property therein,” broad enough to include, as appellant contends, not only the note and the automobile, but the proceeds from the Postal Savings Certificates and the insurance policy which were choses in action? We do not think it was, in the circumstances here, and it is our view that the judgment of the trial court was in all things correct. The insurance policy and the Postal Savings Certificates were choses in action purely.

One of the cardinal rules in construing a will is to ascertain the intention of the testator. This must be done from all the language within the four corners of the will according to the meaning of the words used, as was said tby this court in Wooldridge v. Gilman, 170 Ark. 163, 279 S. W. 20: “The primary rule of construction in the interpretation of a will is to ascertain the intention of the testator, according-to the meaning of the words he has used, deduced from a consideration of the whole will and a comparison of its various clauses in the light of the situation and circumstances which surrounded the testator when the instrument was executed,” and as expressed in Lockhart v. Lyons, 174 Ark. 703, 297 S. W. 1018: “The true rule in the construction of wills, which can be said to be paramount, is to ascertain or arrive at the intention of the testator from the language used, giving consideration, force and meaning to each clause in the entire instrument.” (Citing many cases.)

In the very recent case of Quattlebaum v. The Simmons National Bank, Administrator, 208 Ark. 66, 184 S. W. 2d 911, we said: “In the recent case of Dickens v. Tisdale, 204 Ark. 838, 164 S. W. 2d 990, we said: ‘All the cases are to the effect that the primary purpose of construing a will is'to arrive at the testatrix’s intention in making it, and the rule of construction applicable in all cases is that the will should be read in its entirety, from its four corners, as many cases express the thought;’ . . . and in Duensing v. Duensing, 112 Ark. 362, 165 S. W.

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Bluebook (online)
200 S.W.2d 782, 211 Ark. 280, 1947 Ark. LEXIS 528, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mclane-v-chancey-administrator-ark-1947.