Pennsylvania Land Co. v. Justi

90 S.W. 279, 121 Ky. 765, 1906 Ky. LEXIS 259
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedJanuary 17, 1906
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 90 S.W. 279 (Pennsylvania Land Co. v. Justi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pennsylvania Land Co. v. Justi, 90 S.W. 279, 121 Ky. 765, 1906 Ky. LEXIS 259 (Ky. Ct. App. 1906).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge Nunn

Affirming.

The appellees, the children and grandchildren, all the descendants of the hlood, of Herman Jnsti, and who are all adults, sold to the appellant on the 18th day of November,. 1905, for the price of $66,000, a lot of ground in the city of Louisville, Ky., situated on the corner of Fourteenth and Market streets, fronting 120 feet on Market streét and extending back [768]*768of equal width 195 feet to Congress alley. The appellees executed to the appellant a writing agreeing to make it a good and perfect title to the property. The appellant refused to accept the conveyance tendered, which was duly executed by all the appellees, upon the sole ground that the deed did not pass the fee-simple title to the interests of Herman and John I. J. Justi in the property. The lower court adjudged that the deed tendered should be accepted by the appellant, and that it passed to it the title of all the interests in the property. From' this judgment appellant appeals.

To determine the correctness of this judgment it is necessary to construe the will of Herman Justi, probated in the Jefferson county court February 21, 1881. The testator had a wife and five children, three daughters and two sons, to whom he devised his property. Omitting the formal parts, the will is as follows:

‘ ‘ 1. After the payment of my debts and funeral expenses, I devise to my beloved wife, Catherine Justi, during her life, all my real and personal estate with full power to sell, mortgage, or dispose of, as she may see fit, all or any part of the property in her discretion. At her death all that remains of the property shall be equally divided among my children and their heirs, they taking per stirpes, subject to the limitation and restrictions hereinafter expressed.

“2. To John Israel Jacob Justi I devise, absolutely and without restriction, an undivided one-fifth of the property remaining undisposed of at the death of "my wife.

“3. I devise to Herman Justi, Jr., absolutely and without restriction, an undivided one-fifth of the property remaining undisposed of at the death of my wife.

[769]*769“4. I devise to Rebecca Wilhelmine Justi, for her sole and separate use, an undivided one-fifth of the property remaining undisposed of at the death of my wife; provided,, said Rebecca remains single. Should she marry, then her share of the estate shall vest in John I. J. Justi and Herman Justi, Jr., in trust for her sole and separate use during her life and, upon her death, the title shall vest absolutely in her children; or, if she die without children, then her share shall be equally divided among her brothers and sisters and, if any one of them be dead at that time leaving issue, his or her share of this part of the estate shall go to his or her children. The trustee may, with Rebecca’s written consent sell and convey or mortgage her share or any part thereof in fee or otherwise and pay her the proceeds or reinvest the same as to them may seen best for her interest. Her husband, if she have one, shall have no right to or title in her share of the estate and shall' have no control over it whatever.

“5. I devise to John I. J. Justi and Herman Justi, Jr., an undivided one-fifth of my estate remaining undisposed of at the death of my wife in trust for the sole and separate use of my daughter Elizabeth Muetze during her life, and upon her death the title shall vest absolutely in her children, or, if she die without children, then the title to her share shall vest in her surviving brothers and sisters, and if any of her brothers and sisters be dead, their share of this part of the estate shall go to their children. The trustees may, with Elizabeth’s written consent, sell and convey or mortgage her share or any part thereof in fee or otherwise and pay her the proceeds or reinvest the same as to them may seem best for her interest. Her husband shall havagno right to or title [770]*770in her share of the estate and no control whatever over it.

“6. (This section is identical with section 5, except that it relates to Helen Henrietta Miller.)

“9. I hereby appoint Herman Jnsti, Jr., and John I.- J. Jnsti my executors and request that they may be permitted to qualify as such without security.”

This will was made and executed in the year 1876. In the year 1879 the testator added the following codicil:

“As-to the trusteeship my sons mentioned in the above will, shall act as trustees only after the death of my wife. So long as my wife lives she shall exclusively and entirely alone be the possessor of all my property. It is said in the foregoing will that in case one ef my daughters shall die without children her part shall return back to the Justi family again. I declare that in case one of my sons dies without children likewise his portion shall return back again to the Justi family. My daughter Rebecca shall from the income of the whole estate be paid in advance twenty dollars per month from the death of my wife on. ’ ’

This clause in the codicil, “I declare that in case one of my sons dies without children likewise his portion shall return back again to the Justi family,” produced doubt as to the purpose of the testator, and caused this law-suit. The appellant contends that by this clause John I. J. and Herman Justi, Jr., can not convey a good title to their interests; that they do not own the fee. Appellees controverted this, and refer to the case of Harvey v. Bell, 118 Ky., 512, 81 S. W., 671, 26 Ky. Law Rep., 381, and contend with some plausibility that the first canon of construction laid down therein is conclusive of the question.

[771]*771The canon of construction referred to is as follows: “Where an estate is devised to one for life, with remainder to another, and, if the remainderman, die without children or issue, then to a third person, the rule is that the words, ‘dying without children or issue,’ are restricted to the death of the remainder-man before 'the termination of the particular estate.” Appellees claim that the words. “In case one. of my sons dies without children,” refers to the period fixed for division and distribution, namely, the death of the testator’s wife, and that, as Herman and John I. J. Justi were living at the time of the death of their mother, each of them took his portion in fee-simple. The difficulty in the way of giving this construction to the will and codicil in these words used in the codicil, “His portion shall return back again to the Justi family.” This language certainly contemplates that the sons shall receive the estate; otherwise, it could not “return back again to the Justi family.” The first provision of the will gives the whole estate to the wife, gives her the possession of and absolute dominion over the estate, with the express power to mortgage, sell, or do what she pleases with it, and what is left, if anything, goes to the children. In view of this, clause of the will and this language in the codicil, we are not authorized to construe it as referring to the deaths bf the sons in the lifetime of their mother, but must construe it as having reference to their deaths at any, or an indefinite, time. (See case of Powell’s Ex’or v. Cosby, 89 S. W., 721, 28 Ky. Law Rep., 619, and the authorities cited.

But, having arrived at this conclusion, it does not follow that the lower court erred in adjudging that appellees could pass a good title to this property. The object and purpose in construing wills is to arrive at the intent and purpose of the testator.

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Bluebook (online)
90 S.W. 279, 121 Ky. 765, 1906 Ky. LEXIS 259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pennsylvania-land-co-v-justi-kyctapp-1906.