Muhlke v. Tiedemann

280 Ill. 534
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 23, 1917
DocketNos. 11367-68-69-98
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 280 Ill. 534 (Muhlke v. Tiedemann) 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
Muhlke v. Tiedemann, 280 Ill. 534 (Ill. 1917).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Cooke

delivered the opinion of the court:

On April 28, 1895, Catharina Muhlke, a resident of the city of Chicago, died testate, leaving a will executed January 14, 1895, which was duly probated in the probate court of Cook county. After making bequests aggregating $15,000, she devised and bequeathed all the remainder of her estate, consisting of real and personal property, to Jacob H. Tiedemann, John K. Harmon and Joseph H. Muhlke in trust, directing the trustees to take possession of and manage said estate, with power to sell and convey real estate and invest the proceeds of sale in' interest-bearing securities. The will then proceeded as follows:

“(b) My trustees shall annually make out a true statement of the income and expenditures of my estate and shall furnish the beneficiaries with a copy of the same. They shall divide the net income, annually, into four parts. One part thereof, or one-quarter, shall remain as part of my general estate, to be re-invested, and three parts thereof, or three-quarters, they shall divide equally between my children. In case of the death of any of my children leaving issue and a husband or wife him or her surviving, then one-third of such child’s share of the income shall go to such husband or wife so long as he or she remains unmarried and the balance to the issue, and upon the death or marriage of such husband or wife the whole of the respective share to the issue. Should such deceased child leave a husband or wife but no issue, then in like manner one-third of its share of the income shall go to the husband or wife during life or so long as he or she remains unmarried and the balance shall remain a part of my estate.

“(c) At the end of twenty years from the day of my death my.entire estate shall be partitioned, distributed and divided in equal shares between my children then living and the issue of such of my children as may then be.dead, such issue to take such share as the parent would have taken if living. Should there then be living a husband or wife of a deceased child entitled to a part of the income of my estate as above set forth, his or her share of such income shall be capitalized according to the mortuary tables and such capital sum paid to him or her in lieu of such annuity.

“(d) Should it appear at-the time when my estate is so to be distributed and divided that any of my children shall be without issue, either children or grandchildren, then the share of my estate to which said child shall be entitled shall not be paid to it but my said trustees shall continue to hold said share in trust for said child and to manage it, paying to it the net income of the same, and shall have all the powers hereinbefore granted to them for the management of my entire estate, and upon the death of said child its said share shall be distributed among my other children and the issue of any deceased child on the- principles hereinbefore stated, the surviving wife or husband, if any, to be treated the same as the wife or husband of any child dying before the distribution of my estate, as hereinbefore set forth. Should such child haye lawful issue after the distribution of my estate, then its distributive share of my estate shall be conveyed, delivered and paid over to him or her and the trust in this paragraph created shall terminate.

“(e) I direct that the income so to be paid annually to the beneficiaries under this will, as well as their distributive share of my estate when the same is divided and distributed as aforesaid, shall be paid, distributed, assigned and conveyed to each of said beneficiaries in person or to their lawfully appointed guardian or other legal representative, and that in no event shall any or either of said beneficiaries have the right or power to anticipate his or her share of said estate, or its income, by any order on said trustees, assignment, conveyance or other voluntary transfer, or by operation of law by virtue of any attachment, judgment, decree or other legal proceedings against such beneficiary.

“Fourth—I hereby direct that of the three trustees above named Jacob H. Tiedemann shall be the managing trustee, and as such shall attend to the keeping of the books and the usual office work, and shall receive a compensation of $2500 per annum, the other trustees not to receive any compensation for their services.”

The remaining provisions of the will are not material to a consideration of the questions here presented.

Catharina Muhlke left her surviving eight children, as follows: Henry C. Muhlke, George F. Muhlke, Joseph H. Muhlke, Walter G. Muhlke, Catharina C. Harpel, Adelaide A. Hammond, Louisa M. Tiedemann and Anna S. Henrici, all of whom, except George F. Muhlke, were married when the will was executed. ' At the expiration of the 20-year period specified in the will all of the children of Catharina Muhlke were living and all were married. Louisa M. Tiedemann, Anna S. Henrici, Adelaide A. Hammond and Walter G. Muhlke each had a child or children then living. Henry C. Muhlke, George F. Muhlke and Catharina C. Harpel never had any child born to them. Joseph H. Muhlke had a child born to him on June 9, 1886, but the child had died on July 16, 1886, several years before the will was executed.

At the time of the death of Catharina Muhlke she owned real estate valued at approximately $500,000 and personal property of the value of about $180,000. During the administration of the trust most of the real estate was converted into cash and the proceeds of sale were invested in mortgages. At the end of the 20-year period the trustees had on hand mortgages aggregating $750,000 and were in control of real estate valued at $100,000. They divided the personal property into eight parts and delivered one part to each of the following named children of Catharina Muhlke who had children living on April 28, 1915 : Louisa M. Tiedemann, Anna S. Henrici, Adelaide A. Hammond and Walter G. Muhlke, retaining the other four parts in their hands as trustees.

On September 18, 1915, Joseph H. Muhlke, one of the trustees, filed his bill of complaint in the superior court of Cook county, praying for a construction of the will of Catharina Muhlke. The other two trustees and the children and all descendants of Catharina Muhlke were made defendants to the bill and filed answers. Thereafter, on March 19, 1916, George F. Muhlke died, leaving a widow but no child or descendant. He left a will devising all his estate to his widow, Anna C. Muhlke. On May 14, i9Ifh Anna S. Henrici died, leaving her surviving four children. She left a will devising all her estate to two of her children. These facts were brought to the attention of the court by supplemental bills.

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Related

Muhlke v. Muhlke
120 N.E. 770 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1918)

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Bluebook (online)
280 Ill. 534, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/muhlke-v-tiedemann-ill-1917.