Page v. Jones

198 S.E. 63, 186 Ga. 485, 1938 Ga. LEXIS 622
Supreme Court of Georgia·Decided June 17, 1938·No. No. 12270·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

Hutcheson, Justice.

A fi. fa. in favor of W. L. Jones and against Mary Holland, issued on August 15, 1918, and recorded on the same day, based upon a judgment obtained on August 5, 1918, in the superior court of Candler County, and with entries of nulla bona duly recorded on the general execution docket on October 31, 1924, and October 3, 1931, was levied, on June 8, 1937, on certain described real estate as the property of the estate of Mary Holland, deceased. Dassie Page, the daughter of Mary Holland, interposed her claim on July 2, 1937. On the trial of the case on September 21, 1937, the plaintiff introduced in evidence the fi. fa., with the entry of levy thereon, the entry reciting that the defendant in fi. fa. had died in possession of the property levied on. On the trial the claimant testified substantially as follows: I knew Mary Holland in her lifetime. She died January 29, 1935. At the time of her death she was living with me. She had been living with me since 1923, because she was disabled to see after herself. She made arrangements with me in 1914 to take care of her. In making the arrangements she made me a will. This is the paper that I call a will, and that they said was a will. That is the paper she gave to me, and that paper was delivered to me. I have not been in possession of it all the while. Under the deed exhibited to me (dated November 26, 1934), I went into possession of the property in good faith, and have so held it since I went into possession of it. I went in possession of it when I had to take mother 'with me to tend her. I took possession of the property when she gave it to me, because I kept up the taxes. I have been in- possession of that property since the date of the will. I also hold under the deed, and have been in possession under it since the date of it. During this time we made some of the crops, farmed some of them, and then other folks would farm some. I have had the entire control and management of the place since I went in possession of it. It is my property now. I lived in Emanuel County six years, 1917 through 1922. My mother was living on the place during those years. When I returned from Emanuel County I moved to Mr. Avant’s place, a mile or so from my mother’s farm; but we were farming the farm at home and taking care of my mother. Will Holland did not take possession of the place then. I don’t remember what [487]*487year he farmed it. He farmed the place two years for my mother, but it was with my consent. When I left Mr. Avant’s place, after living there about a year, I moved to the house on the home place. I don’t know when it was that Mr. Jones had possession, but he had it three years. He had it, but he did not have it three years. I think he farmed it one year. My mother died on the place, but she was living with me. The year I moved in there with mother was in 1924, and in 1923 I moved back there and moved mother with us. She had moved oif, had been living with me. Mother did not live on the land all the time; wherever we worked shs lived with me, and I took care of her. I don’t know who Mr. Jones rented the place from. I don’t know how he got the place. -Will Holland rented the place from my mother, and occupied it six years while I was in Emanuel County; he was there then at home with my mother. I furnished some one to stay with her all the time. I have claimed an interest in this property from the time she willed it to me. I can not name any one I ever rented the place to. The description of the property levied on is the same property as that covered by both these papers, the deed and the one I call the will. It is all the same property.

Harvey Page, husband of the claimant, testified substantially as follows: I married Dassie Page in 1907. After our marriage, Mary Holland and my wife had some transactions about some papers relative to who should take care of Mary Holland. She made my wife this paper that my wife calls a will. My wife went into possession under this paper, and she has been in possession ever since, according to my notion. My wife has been in possession ever since this deed. Since these papers she has been in actual possession of the property, and she has been in control of it; kind of bossed you know — mistress of it you know. Nobody has worked it since these papers were made to her, without her consent. MaTy Holland never asserted any right or title or claim to this property that I know of. She always said it was Dassie’s; whenever anything came up she would always say, “You will have to ask Dassie.” Along toward the last Mary Holland was helpless most of the time, almost two years I would say. Prior to that time Dassie and I furnished to Mary Holland money and material things of value. At different times we furnished her groceries, fed her, and gave her clothes and shoes and just whatever she needed, and money [488]*488too. She stayed with us as a member of the family, and Dassie cared for her as such. We furnished her several different times. We would give her four or five, and sometimes ten, and one time Dassie gave her fifty dollars, just to take care of her, for her benefit. That was done something like two or three years prior to her death. I don’t know how much it cost Dassie to take care of her mother from the date of the will to the death of her mother. It would be a pretty big amount, because she had to feed her and clothe her and shoe her and furnish somebody to stay with her all the time for about two years. During this long period of time Mary Holland was sick at times. We had doctors lots of times, bought drugs for her. Dassie paid the doctor’s bills, and was in possession of this property at the time of the death of Mary Holland: Mary Holland did not have an income except what she got from Dassie and .myself. Will Holland rented the place in 1916 and 1917, I think. He paid part of the rent to Mary Holland, the other part hasn’t been paid at all. In this affidavit of illegality my wife is speaking about my mother paying this debt. (The claimant was formerly a defendant in fi. fa.; but upon the filing of her affidavit of illegality, traversing the return of service and setting up other matters, the fi. fa. was “dismissed” as to her.) And she says by the lease of her place in 1918 she paid $100. Mr. Jones took over the lease and was to pay her for it, and said he would give her credit for that on the debt. It was not Mary Holland’s place in 1918. When Dassie Page swore (in the affidavit of illegality) that her mother collected $100 for the rent of the place in 1918, she swore the truth. She did not claim it was Mary Holland’s place. In paragraph 4 of the illegality my wife swore: “In further answer, this deponent says that Mary Holland while in life paid W. L. Jones on the said judgment the following amounts, to wit, by lease of her place for the year 1918 paid in the fall $100.” We moved to Emanuel County in 1917, and stayed there seven years. We lived seven years in Emanuel County, and my wife’s mother lived on the old home place, the Mary Holland place. We then moved back to this county and lived on Mr. Avant’s place part of one year. As to what income Mary Holland had while she was living on the farm, besides the farm, she didn’t have any. She had no income except what she got from Dassie and myself. In the illegality filed to the execution as administrator [489]*489of Mary Holland’s estate I set np credit’s of $120 by rent of the farm in 1918; paid by rent of farm $150; yearling $50; sow and five shoats, $25; cash from sale of pinders, $15, and two cash payments totaling $75. My wife in her illegality swore that Mary Holland was paying W. L. Jones, and that in 1918 the place was Mary Holland’s.

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Page v. Jones, 198 S.E. 63, 186 Ga. 485, 1938 Ga. LEXIS 622 (Ga. 1938).

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