Parkes v. Burkhart

172 P. 908, 101 Wash. 659, 1918 Wash. LEXIS 923
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedApril 29, 1918
DocketNo. 14509
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 172 P. 908 (Parkes v. Burkhart) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parkes v. Burkhart, 172 P. 908, 101 Wash. 659, 1918 Wash. LEXIS 923 (Wash. 1918).

Opinion

Per Curiam.

Appellant filed a petition in the probate proceedings upon the estate of Mary M. Partes, deceased, in which he set forth that his father, Charles E. Partes, died intestate at Tacoma on August 25, 1909, leaving him surviving his widow, Mary M. Partes, and appellant; that all of the property accumulated by Charles E. Partes in his lifetime was the community estate of himself and Mary M. Partes; that Mary M. Partes was not the mother of appellant, but, by reason of her marriage to appellant’s father while appellant was of tender years, the same love, affection, and confidence existed between them as if the relation between them had been that of mother and son; that, while the community estate of [661]*661Charles E. Parkes was in process of settlement, Mary M. Parkes, fearing that, if the estate were distributed according to law—that is, one-half to Mary M, Parkes and the remaining half to appellant—the share of Mary M. Parkes would be insufficient to support and maintain her, proposed to the appellant that, if he would convey to her all his right, title, and interest in his father’s estate, she would make a will devising and bequeathing all of the property of which she should die possessed to appellant; that, actuated by his affection and having confidence in Mary M. Parkes, appellant agreed to this proposal, and in accordance therewith duly conveyed all his right, title and interest in his father’s estate to Mary M. Parkes; that the proposition and acceptance relied upon were oral; that this oral agreement was partly performed by a conveyance of certain described real estate from Mary M. Parkes to the appellant on December 15, 1913, which property so conveyed was a part of the property received by Mary M. Parkes from the estate of her husband under the agreement between Mary M. Parkes and appellant; that Mary M. Parkes died testate on June 28, 1916, leaving a will in which she named appellant as executor, devised to him certain real estate and bequeathed to him certain personal property, disposing of the remainder, constituting the greater part of her estate, to certain of her collateral relatives.

Appellant then alleges that the value of his distributive share in his father’s estate, which under the agreement between himself and Mary M. Parkes he conveyed to her, was $6,000. He then prays, (1) for a decree establishing the oral agreement between himself and Mary M. Parkes, and that the collateral devisees under the will of Mary M. Parkes be charged with a trust in his favor as to all property received by them under the will of Mary M. Parkes; (2) if this [662]*662relief be not granted, then that he be allowed a claim against the estate of Mary M. Parkes in the sum of ,$6,000, with interest from the date of his conveyance to Mary M. Parkes under the alleged agreement. On the same day and as part of the same petition, he filed a second claim, in which he recited that, for seven years between the death of her husband and her own death, he rendered certain personal services to Mary M. Parkes and incurred certain expenses for her use and benefit in the sum of $1,675.80; that theretofore he had filed a claim against the estate of Mary M. Parkes for a part of the above services to the extent only of $624, under the mistaken belief that he could recover from the estate only for such services as had been performed within three years prior to the death of Mary M. Parkes. This petition was treated as a complaint, and a demurrer thereto was interposed by respondents, which was sustained, and from which this appeal follows.

Respondents have filed in this court a transcript of the probate proceedings in the estate of Mary M. Parkes, which appellant moves to strike. The purpose of that transcript is, of course, to acquaint this court with the various steps taken by appellant, as executor of the estate of Mary M. Parkes, in the settlement and probate of her estate. The motion to strike will be denied. It would serve appellant no good purpose if it were granted, as this court would, for the purposes of the appeal, take judicial notice of all that the lower court properly noticed. The only purpose served by this transcript then is to bring before this court in an orderly way the matters and things of which the lower court took judicial notice. The lower court would, without doubt, take judicial notice of its own records in the very proceeding in which appellant had filed his petition and in which it was called upon to act, and these [663]*663matters of judicial notice were just as much a part of appellant’s petition and as properly considered by the court in ruling thereon as if specific reference had been made to them. French v. Senate of California, 146 Cal. 604, 80 Pac. 1031, 69 L. R. A. 556.

From these matters of judicial notice, which the lower court was authorized to consider in aid of the demurrer, it appears that, on June 30, 1916, appellant petitioned for the probate of the will of Mary M. Parkes, specifically alleging that the real property in controversy here was the property of decedent; on that day he caused notice to be sent to the state board of tax commissioners, setting forth the names and addresses of these respondents and giving the estimated value of their shares, and also setting forth that the real property given to him by the terms of the will had been deeded to him in the lifetime of decedent; the will which he offered for probate bequeathed to him all the money, notes and mortgages of the estate, and nominated him as executor thereof; he obtained his appointment as executor and filed his oath as such; on July 27,1916, he inventoried this property as the property of decedent, and caused it to be appraised as such, and caused this inventory and appraisement to be served on the state board of tax commissioners; on August 2, 1916, September 28, 1916, October 26, 1916, .January 17,1917, April 5, 1917, and May 23, 1917, appellant petitioned for and obtained orders permitting him, as executor, to repair the dwellings in the estate which had been devised to respondents; on August 7, 1916, appellant petitioned for and obtained an order permitting him, as executor, to sell the personal property, heirlooms, etc., devised to respondents, and actually did sell them at public auction for less than $162; on December 28, 1916, as a legatee under the will, he petitioned for a partial distribution to him on his [664]*664money legacy, and the court, upon this petition did distribute to him, as legatee under the terms of the will, the sum of $500; on May 23,1917, appellant petitioned for an order to sell the real property devised to respondents, in order to pay to himself the alleged debt which he had established upon an ex parte application; and by various orders in which he describes the property which he wishes to sell as the property of the estate, he has continued the hearing upon this petition to May 1, 1918, in order that, in the event that this appeal is decided against him, he may still go on with his petition; on June 30, 1917, exactly one year after his appointment as executor, as executor he instituted the present contest.

These facts make a proper case for the application of the doctrine of election. Appellant is seeking to take under the will and, at the same time, set up a right or claim which, if well founded, would defeat the will in so far as it affects respondents. The will expresses a clear intention on the part of the testatrix to pass certain property to appellant and to pass certain other property in fee to respondents. It is well to remember that appellant was not an heir of Mary M. Parkes.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
172 P. 908, 101 Wash. 659, 1918 Wash. LEXIS 923, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parkes-v-burkhart-wash-1918.