Morrison v. Schorr

64 N.E. 545, 197 Ill. 554
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedJune 19, 1902
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 64 N.E. 545 (Morrison v. Schorr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morrison v. Schorr, 64 N.E. 545, 197 Ill. 554 (Ill. 1902).

Opinion

Mr. Chief Justice Magruder

delivered the opinion of the court:

Appellee claims that the interest of Henrietta Reis, afterwards Henrietta Ewald, under the will of Adam Reis, Sr., was a mere life estate, which expired upon her death; that, therefore, appellant, claiming by conveyance from the purchaser at an execution sale of Henrietta’s interest in a portion of the land, and by deed from her of other portions thereof, acquired nothing more than an estate for her life in one-third thereof, so that appellant no longer had any title or interest in the said one-third of the lands when she died. Appellee also claims that, by the deeds from Augusta Reis and Louis Reis, he became entitled to the undivided half of all the premises described in the bill; and that appellant, by virtue of the deeds from Anna Reis and Lena Reis, became entitled to their undivided half of all of said premises. The appellant concedes, that this contention is correct, so far as lots 68 and 69 are concerned, inasmuch as the will, by its terms, gave to Henrietta only a life estate therein; but he denies appellee’s contention, so far as it concerns the other real estate described in the bill. Appellant claims, that Henrietta Reis was vested with the fee simple title to an undivided one-third of all of said lands, except lots 68 and 69; that Anna, Lena, Augusta and Louis Reis each took an undivided one-sixth of the said lands, or altogether an undivided two-thirds thereof, and that, by the deeds from Anna and Lena Reis, appellant acquired their one-third; so that, according to his claim, he is entitled to the undivide'd two-thirds of the real estate, other than lots 68 and 69, and that appellee is entitled to the undivided one-third thereof.

Hence, the only question for determination here is, what estate did Henrietta Reis, afterwards Henrietta Ewald, take under the will of Adam Reis, Sr., in the real estate, other than lots 68 and 69, of which the testator died seized. If she took but a life estate therein, the decree of the circuit court is correct, while, if she took one-third in fee, that decree is erroneous.

The contention of the appellant is based upon the second clause of the second paragraph of the will. He claims that, under the second paragraph, the widow took the whole estate, until the eldest one of the testator’s children should attain the age of eighteen years, and that, after that date, which was in 1892, she took one-third of that real estate absolutely and in fee simple, while the appellee contends that she took but a life estate. Appellant invokes, in support of his position upon this subject, the doctrine that a devise of the rents, income and profits of real estate is a devise of the real estate itself. (Zimmer v. Sennott, 134 Ill. 505; Sturtzum v. Sennott, 41 Ill. App. 496; Howe v. Hodge, 152 Ill. 252). The words, “after which my wife shall recover one-third only of the net rents and income of such real estate,” are construed by the appellant to mean, that the wife should have the fee of one-third of all the real estate, except the homestead lots 68 and 69.

Appellant also invokes the doctrine that, where legacies are by will made a personal charge on the devisee, the acceptance of the devise imposes a personal liability on the devisee; who will take the estate devised, as a purchaser and in fee, unless a less estate is limited; but that, if the legacies are charged on the estate devised, the devisee does not take as a purchaser, but as a beneficial" devisee. (Zimmer v. Sennott, supra; Funk v. Eggleston, 92 Ill. 515).

Appellant also invokes the thirteenth section of the Conveyance act, which provides that “every estate in lands, which shall be granted, conveyed or devised, although other words heretofore necessary to transfer an estate of inheritance be not added, shall be deemed a fee simple estate of inheritance, if a less estate be not limited by express words, or do not appear to have been granted, conveyed or devised by construction or operation of law.” (1 Starr & Cur. Ann. Stat.—2d ed.—p. 925).

Fii'st—It is true, and this court has held, that a devise of the rents, income and profits of land is equivalent to a devise of the land itself. (Handberry v. Doolittle, 38 Ill. 202; Ryan v. Allen, 120 id. 648; 2 Jarman on Wills, 609). But a devise of the rents, income and profits of land is not always equivalent to a devise of the fee estate in the land. A portion of the second paragraph of the will of Adam Reis, Sr., was under consideration by this court in Zimmer v. Sennott, supra. It was there held that, by the use of the following words in paragraph 2 of the will, to-wit: “also, all the rents, income and profits arising 'from all my real estate, which I may own, (excepting said house and lots,) until the eldest one of my children has attained the age of eighteen years, upon condition that my said wife shall raise, support and educate my children, until they respectively have attained the age of eighteen years, after which my wife shall receive one-third, only, of the net rents and income of such real estate, the other two-thirds to be paid to and equally divided among- my children by my present wife,” the testator gave to the wife an interest in the land, as a devisee, which was liable to sale on execution against her, and that she did not hold such title as trustee for the testator’s children. It was there said that, “by the language of the will the devise to Henrietta Reis was not charged with the support and education of the testator’s children, but the charge was upon the devisee herself, and, when such is the case, the devisee takes as a purchaser.” It there appeared that the eldest child was then about fifteen years of age, and the youngest, seven or eight, so that three years were yet to elapse before the eldest child should become eighteen years of age. The holding there was merely, that Henrietta Reis took such an interest, as was subject to levy under an execution issued upon a judgment recovered against her. Under section 3 of the act in relation to judgments, etc., the term, “real estate,” includes estates for the life of the debtor, or of another person, and estates for years. (2 Starr & Cur. Ann. Stat.—2d ed.—p. 2330). There, Henrietta Reis had an estate for years in the property, which could be .subjected to the payment of the judgment against her. But it was not there decided, that the quantum of interest, taken by her under the will, was a fee simple interest in the land. True, it was there held that she took as a purchaser, because the charge of the support and education of the testator’s children was upon her, herself, as devisee, but it was expressly stated that, where the devise imposes a personal liability on the devisee, the devisee will take the estate devised, as a purchaser and in fee, unless, a less estate is limited. Whether or not, therefore, the interest given here by the will is a fee simple interest, depends upon the question whether a less estate is limited or not. Thus, in Mather v. Mather, 103 Ill.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Corwin v. Rheims
61 N.E.2d 40 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1945)
Churchill v. Fleming
193 N.E. 497 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1934)
Kern v. Kern
127 N.E. 396 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1920)
Sheridan v. Blume
125 N.E. 353 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1919)
Anderson v. Menefee
174 S.W. 904 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1915)
Bowser v. Mosier
125 Ill. App. 565 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1906)
Montgomery v. McPherson
86 Miss. 4 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1905)
Meyer v. Weiler
95 N.W. 254 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1903)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
64 N.E. 545, 197 Ill. 554, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morrison-v-schorr-ill-1902.