Rice v. McMullen

43 So. 2d 195, 207 Miss. 706, 1949 Miss. LEXIS 382
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 28, 1949
DocketNo. 37226.
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 43 So. 2d 195 (Rice v. McMullen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rice v. McMullen, 43 So. 2d 195, 207 Miss. 706, 1949 Miss. LEXIS 382 (Mich. 1949).

Opinions

*717 Montgomery, J.

The appellee, Nathan J. McMullen, a residuary legatee under the will of P. EL McCalep, brought this suit in the Chancery Court of the Second Judicial District of Tallahatchie County to recover from the estate of Mrs. Carrie McCalep Armstrong, a sister of P. H. McCalep, deceased, his alleged rightful share of the residuum of the trust estate created by the last will and testament of P. H. McCalep, the corpus of which trust estate, it is alleged, *718 had been wrongfully appropriated by Mrs. Armstrong, as the sole heir at law of P. H. McCalep, deceased, on the strength of a void decree rendered by the trial court theretofore on April 23,1939, whereby it was decreed that the alleged-will was not the true last will and testament of P. H. McCalep,' deceased, and adjudging Mrs. Armstrong to be his sole heir at law and as such entitled to receive the estate. There was a decree in the lower court for appellee for the sum of $3,984.33 and from this decree the executors appeal and the appellee cross-appeals.

For a full understanding of the case presented here for decision it is necessary that we briefly review the facts.

On February 10, 1939, P. H. McCalep executed his last will and testament, Items 4, 5, and 10 of which are material in our discussion here and which items read as follows:

“IV. It is my desire that my sole, surviving close relative, to-wit: my sister, Carrie McCalep Armstrong, shall be provided for during her life. I, therefore, constitute and appoint the said M. P. Sturdivant and the said J. R; Flautt, my trustees, to take charge of, to manage, and to invest all property of which I shall die, seized and possessed, to hold, manage and to invest the same and out of the proceeds to pay to my said sister each a sum and amount equal to $200.00 per month, there being charged against the said $200.00 a month, t'he amount per month which my sister shall receive from any annuity policies which I have procured, payable to her; she, however, to receive in addition to the $200.00 per month, the proceeds of any policies other than annuity policies in which she is beneficiary, which sum or sums so received shall not be considered or computed as payments on the $200.00 per month allowance herein provided for.
“V. In the event of illness or other- emergency, which in the judgment of my said trustees and executors, shall justify the expenditure, they are authorized in addition to the $200.00 a month, to expend additional sum out *719 of either income or principal in whatever amount may he necessary for the proper care of my said sister. ’ ’
“X. After my said sister shall die, the property in the' hands of said trustees shall be divided equally between Mrs. Alice McMullen, Mrs. Nita Seawright Campbell, Mrs. Katie Seawright Crowe, Nathan McMullen, Francher McMullen Provine, share and share alike.”

P. H. McCalep died on February 16,1939, just six days after the execution of the will. On February 21, 1939, it was offered for probate in common form and by order of the Chancery Clerk was duly admitted to probate and record. On March 21, 1939, Mrs. Carrie McCalep Armstrong filed a contest of the will on the grounds that it was not lawfully executed by the testator and that the testator did not have, at the time of its alleged execution, the necessary testamentary capacity to enable him to make a will. All of the legatees, who were to take under the will, were made parties. The appellee, Nathan J. McMullen was alleged in the petition to be a non-resident in the following language, “Nathan J. McMullen, whose place of residence and postoffice address is Sherman, Texas, but whose street address is unknown to respondent and could not be ascertained after diligent inquiry”. There was no separate affidavit and the foregoing was the sole allegation in support of the process by publication for appellee, Nathan J. McMullen. Thereafter all of the parties defendant, except the appellee, employed attorneys to represent them in resisting the effort of Mrs. Armstrong to have the will declared null and void and the proposed contract of employment of said attorneys was sent to Nathan J. McMullen at his home in Sherman, Texas, but was returned by him without signature. Appellee stated to the other residuary legatees that he did not want to be involved in a lawsuit with Mrs. Armstrong. He also acknowledged that he received from the clerk a copy of the published summons and that he *720 received a copy of the instrument purporting to be the will of P. H. McCalep.

Before the trial of the will contest a settlement was agreed upon, by all of the defendants, except Nathan J. McMullen, as a result of which $16,500.00 was paid over to the other legatees, excepting Nathan J. McMullen, and those legatees agreed not to contest Mrs. Armstrong’s action to set aside the will and to permit her, without contest, to take the decree desired by her. This agreement was carried out and although the decree rendered pursuant to Mrs. Armstrong’s action appears by its terms to have been granted by the court after a contest of the issues involved in the action, there was, in fact, no such contest and the same was obtained by Mrs. Armstrong with the consent of all of the legatees under the will of P. H. McCalep, deceased, excepting Nathan J. McMullen, who did not consent and received nothing from the settlement of the lawsuit. On April 23rd, 1939, the court, under the circumstances above stated entered a decree setting aside the alleged will of P. H. McCalep, deceased, adjudging Mrs. Armstrong to be the sole heir at law of the deceased, and directing payment of the assets of the estate over to her as such.

Prom the date of this decree Mrs. Armstrong was in full possession and control of the assets of the estate of P. H. McCalep, deceased, mixing and commingling them with her own and enjoying them as her pleasures or necessities might require until her death on February 17, 1945.

Thereupon, the date of the filing not appearing in this record, the appellee, Nathan J. McMullen, filed his original bill against the appellants, who had been appointed executors upon the estate of Carrie McCalep Armstrong, deceased, and to this an amended bill was filed, the filing date not being shown in the record, and a second amended bill was filed on February 5, 1947. To these- there were full answers by the defendants.

*721 The pleadings admit that on the- faith of the: decree .of April 23, 1940, and pursuant to the further-orders of the court, M. 'P. Sturdivant and J. R. Flautt, the executors of the estate of P. H. McCalep, after paying all of P; H. McCalep’s just debts, including those incurred' in his', last illnéss and .those owed to his physicians and those probated against his estate; and after converting all of P. H. McCalep’s real estate and personal property into Cash, with the exception of a promissory noté due by J. R. Flautt to P. H. McCalep in the .amount of $4500.00,- -a $5,000.00 certificate of deposit with the Bank of Sumner, and a $7,988.32- savings account with the Bank of Clarksdale, and, after paying the legacy provided by P.

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Bluebook (online)
43 So. 2d 195, 207 Miss. 706, 1949 Miss. LEXIS 382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rice-v-mcmullen-miss-1949.