Polley's ex'rs v. Polley

82 Ky. 64, 1884 Ky. LEXIS 39
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedApril 10, 1884
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 82 Ky. 64 (Polley's ex'rs v. Polley) 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
Polley's ex'rs v. Polley, 82 Ky. 64, 1884 Ky. LEXIS 39 (Ky. Ct. App. 1884).

Opinion

JUDGE PBYOB

delivered the opinion' oe the court.

James D. Polley, residing in the city of Covington,, executed a will in the month of February, 1866, and died in May, 1879. At the date of his will, being indebted to various parties, he designated the property out of which his debts were to be paid, 1st, the proceeds of his notes; 2d, certain vacant lots in Covington, and 3d, his lands in the county of Boone. He' then proceeded • to devise to three of his children, in equal parts, the vacant lots and the Boone county land, after the payment of his debts, evidently supposing that much of this property would be left after the payment of his debts. He then proceeded to devise to three of his children, other than the devisees mentioned, certain property in the city of Covington. Before the death of the testator he had disposed of his notes, the vacant lots, and the Boone county lands, leaving no personal estate to pay his debts.

The executor filed the present action for the settlement of his estate and the payment of his debts, to which all the devisees and parties in interest were made defendants. Shortly after the will was executed, he sold a part of the Boone land to one Adams for near thirty-five hundred dollars, for which he took the notes of the vendee, the testator being indebted to his daughter, Martha Ingersoll, as guardian of her infant child, in the sum of $5,722, for the purpose of securing the [66]*66•debt, mortgaged to her the remaining Boone county lands, and also pledged the notes on Adams as collateral security. Prances M. Polley and Jasper H. Polley, two of the devisees of the Boone county land, were in possession, at the date of the mortgage, of their respective interests, or the two holding jointly the land •under a parol gift, as they allege, from their father. 'These two children died before the testator, and the .'latter, after their death, executed, on the 22d of January, 1868, conveyances to their children of the Boone .land, except the land sold Adams. This land sold Adams was taken back by the testator and sold to Lewis, and the notes of Adams, held by Mrs. Ingersoll, ¡surrendered, at the instance of her father. What became of the proceeds of the land sold to Lewis does not ¡appear.

Mrs. Ingersoll, having been made a defendant ■sought, by proper pleadings, to subject the Boone county land that had been mortgaged to her to secure ■the payment due her as guardian. The children of her deceased brother resisted the sale upon several grounds:

Mrst. They allege that when the mortgage was executed on the land, their ancestors were in possession under the parol gift from their father, of which fact Mrs. Ingersoll had notice.

Second. That the conveyance made to them by the testator, although subsequent to the mortgage, contained a clause of general warranty, and that an eviction, or the enforcement of the lien depriving them of the land, would give them the right of action and recovery to the extent of the loss sustained, and this being the case, the estate left by the devisor and devised [67]*67to his other children should he subjected to the debt, and being all before the court, in order to prevent further litigation, the rights of all the parties were asked to be settled, to which no exception seems to have been taken. The grandchildren making this defense are claiming under the parol gift to their parents and the deeds made to them by their grandfather, and not under his will.

The Chancellor below adjudged that the land mortgaged was not liable, and required the estate devised to remove the burden.

It is evident that the testator had placed his two sons in possession of this land, intending ultimately to give it to them when distributing his estate, and that they entered upon the land with this understanding. 'This is manifest from the fact that shortly after the death of his two sons he executed the conveyance to their children for no other consideration than that of love and affection. He expresses a consideration of §2,865 for each tract, but it is evident from the recital in each deed that this was the value • of the land as fixed by the grantee in the effort on his part to make an equal distribution of his estate, and, besides, it is shown that no consideration whatever was paid by either the children or the grandchildren by the two deeds.

Counsel for the appellees maintain that the parol gift vesting the two sons with an equitable interest that existed before the mortgage, the subsequent conveyance by the grandfather passing to them the legal title, destroyed any equitable right the mortgagee had for the security of his debt. We do not perceive in this branch [68]*68of the case any other equity existing in behalf of the-two sons than the mere intention of the testator, or grantee, to give them this land ill the final distribution of his estate. They might, having entered under this declared purpose of their ancestors, have recovered for any valuable improvements made exceeding the value of the rents, but the mere intention of the testator,, evidenced by the fact of his placing his two sons in possession, or by an express declaration that he intended to give them this land, would not invest the-donors with either the legal or equitable title. The-property still belonged to the donor, and his right to execute the gift was purely voluntary on his part, and would not have been enforced by the Chancellor against his will.

In Booker v. Abel, 8 Bibb, it is said that such a gift is void, and it is not pretended that the parties have been in possession such a length of time as would constitute an adverse holding vesting them with title. The two sons were in possession in the same manner the devisees were, the-property having been designated by the will belonging to each one of his children at the death of the testator. It is true these appellees take under the deeds, and not under the will, and the creditors of the testator would ordinarily be compelled, or rather his executor and devisees, to exhaust the estate left by the testator before subjecting the land conveyed to their children. The testator owning the land in Boone, and never having parted with the title, had the right to execute the mortgage upon it, and when the grandchildren accepted the conveyance they held the land subject to the mortgage previously- executed to Mrs. Inger[69]*69•soil, and the land is liable to those she represents in her fiducial capacity for the mortgage debt.

As between the children, and grandchildren of the testator, some holding under the deeds and the others under the will, the question of more difficulty than any ■other arises: If the testator had, in his.lifetime, conveyed this land without having executed a prior incumbrance upon it, it would, no doubt, be adjudged that his estate left at his death, if sufficient, must pay his debts, and not what he had previously conveyed to his ■children; but a different question is presented in this ■case.

The land conveyed was a gift to the grandchildren, .•and that claimed was a gift to his children, no other •consideration existing but that of love and affection in either instrument. There is a warranty of title in the conveyance to the grandchildren against incumbrances, etc., and, therefore, for a breach of the warranty the •estate, as they maintain, is liable to them for any damages they may sustain. On the other hand, it is argued that, as nothing had been paid by the grandchildren, the damages for the breach would be nominal •only.

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

Related

Young v. Madison's Ex'r
66 S.W.2d 1 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1933)
Mason's Guardian v. Soaper
23 S.W.2d 956 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1930)
Dorn v. Fidelity & Columbia Trust Co.
263 S.W. 681 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1924)
Hall v. Hall
200 S.W. 611 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1918)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
82 Ky. 64, 1884 Ky. LEXIS 39, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/polleys-exrs-v-polley-kyctapp-1884.