Stewart v. Estate of Stewart

94 A.2d 912, 148 Me. 421, 1953 Me. LEXIS 8
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedFebruary 17, 1953
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 94 A.2d 912 (Stewart v. Estate of Stewart) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stewart v. Estate of Stewart, 94 A.2d 912, 148 Me. 421, 1953 Me. LEXIS 8 (Me. 1953).

Opinions

Fellows, J.

This case comes to the Law Court on exceptions by Arthur G. Stewart to a decree of a Justice of the Superior Court for Kennebec County, sitting as the Supreme Court of Probate. The decree found no error on the part of the Judge of Probate for Kennebec County in allowing certain payments in the account and private claim of Clarence E. Stewart testamentary trustee and life beneficiary. This decree of the Supreme Court of Probate dismissed the appeal, taken from the Probate Court by remainderman Arthur G. Stewart, and the pending exceptions by him were taken.

The facts are these: Carrie K. Stewart died in 1986, and at the time of her death she had, as near relatives, a son Clarence Elmer Stewart, and a grandson (the son of a deceased son) Arthur Gilbert Stewart.

The will of Carrie K. Stewart provided (1) that her son Clarence Elmer Stewart should have his father’s writing desk for his life, and upon his decease the desk to go to her grandson Arthur Gilbert Stewart, (2) the sum of $500 was [423]*423given to a Spiritualist Society, (3) the home place with lots and furnishings was given to the trustee under the will, in trust for the grandson Arthur Gilbert Stewart with right on the part of the trustee to sell if “wise and best.” The trust to continue until the grandson is twenty-one, (4) to a grandniece “my Springer highboy,” (5) then comes the fifth paragraph of the will which is now directly in issue, and is as follows:

“Fifth: I give, devise, and bequeath the remainder and residue of my property be it real or personal to my trustee hereafter named. The said property to be held in trust for the use and benefit of my son Clarence Elmer Stewart. The Trustee to have the right to sell or dispose of real estate, and to place the proceeds on interest, for the benefit of my son Clarence Elmer Stewart the rest of his, natural life, at his demise, the same or what remains, shall go to my grandson Arthur Gilbert Stewart, forever.”

The inventory of the estate of Carrie K. Stewart filed in June 1938, listed real estate as of the value of $3,000 and the rights and credits $1,746.87, a total of $4,746.87. The first account of Clarence E. Stewart, allowed for the three-year period January 1, 1944 to January 1, 1947, showed gross income from rent and bank interest of $1,716.47, with total expenditures for ordinary repairs, water rates, taxes, and insurance, as $755.10. The net income of $961.37 was paid to Clarence E. Stewart.

The second account of Clarence E. Stewart as trustee, allowed for the years January 1, 1947 to January 1, 1950 showed gross income $1,872.84 and after payment of taxes, ordinary repairs, water rates, and insurance, the net income $1,215.73.

The third and final account, now in dispute in these proceedings, for the period January 1, 1950 to April 4, 1951, [424]*424shows gross income $817.22 with the claimed expenses totalling $683.25 (which final account with a bill for outside painting, contains the disputed items in Clarence E. Stewart’s private claim for permanent improvements and unusual repairs, which he asks to be taken from the bank deposits of the trust, and amounts to $596.28. This is objected to by Arthur G. Stewart the remainderman).

Woodbury Wallace, named in the will, was first appointed executor and trustee. Upon Wallace’s resignation, Clarence E. Stewart, the life tenant, was appointed trustee May 22, 1944 and acted as such until he was removed by the Probate Court in April, 1951, on the petition of Arthur G. Stewart, appellant, for alleged lack of proper notice to said Arthur G. Stewart when Clarence E. Stewart was first appointed, and because “impartial trustee should be appointed.” Arno A. Bittues was appointed trustee April 4, 1951.

The real estate referred to in the fifth paragraph of the will has been rented since 1936, and the trustee accounts have been filed by Clarence E. Stewart as trustee during the years 1944-1949 and allowed by the Probate Court. The third and final account and private claim filed by Clarence E. Stewart and now objected to, includes contested items for rewiring house, for new ceilings in dining room and kitchen, for copper tubing to toilet, for new roof, for wiring for electric stove, and for outside painting of house, which the agreed facts show were initially paid by Clarence E. Stewart from his own personal funds.

On July 23, 1951, the Probate Court allowed the account and the private claim of $596.28 to Clarence E. Stewart, and the court stated in its decree as follows:

“It seems to be clearly the law in this state that when a life estate in both real and personal property has been granted, a devise of whatever remains or the use of words of similar import an[425]*425nexes to the life estate by implication a power of disposal. Therefore, it seems to the Court that in the instant case the testatrix in using the words ‘the same or what remains’ intended that the trustee within the limits of reasonable discretion could also draw on the corpus of the trust for the use and benefit of the life tenant.
The testatrix, in setting up this trust, was providing for her own son, who was her only living child, her only other child (a son) had predeceased her. She had already made provision in the third clause of her Will for the grandson, Arthur Gilbert Stewart, who is the son of her deceased son. And after providing for her son she directs the disposition of the property remaining at his death---which appears to be a plain implication that the corpus of the estate might be or was likely to be diminished during her son’s life, for to conclude otherwise, would be to give very little or no practical significance to the word remain.”

An appeal was taken by Arthur G. Stewart from this decree of the Probate Court allowing the final account and claim of Clarence E. Stewart, for the reason that “it is the duty of a trustee to take care of repairs on a building in his trust and only to turn over the net income.” Upon hearing in the Supreme Court of Probate, the justice presiding found no error in the Probate Court’s decision, and dismissed the appeal. The decision of the Supreme Court of Probate said in part:

“Testatrix had two objects of her bounty, her son and her grandson. By the third clause she provides directly and substantially for the grandson. By the fifth clause she provides that the residuum of her estate be held in trust for the ‘use and benefit’ of her son. She further gives her trustee the express right to dispose of the real estate and put the proceeds at interest. At the death of the son, ‘the same or what remains’ goes to the grandson. The intention is plain. The words used are broad [426]*426in scope. It is apparent that the principal may be invaded for the ‘use and benefit’ of the son, and the remainder over is purely incidental to main intent and purpose of the clause which was designed to offer broad protection to the son during his life. There was no error in the court below in allowing the payments charged to principal and decree must be ‘Appeal Dismissed.’ ”

The bill of exceptions states that the Supreme Court of Probate was in error in holding that (1) “the work done here might properly be classed as unusual repairs,” (2) in error in holding that “the principal may be invaded for the use and benefit of the son,” and (8) in error in holding that “there was no error in the court below in allowing the payments charged to principal.”

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Stewart v. Estate of Stewart
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
94 A.2d 912, 148 Me. 421, 1953 Me. LEXIS 8, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stewart-v-estate-of-stewart-me-1953.